Former MD jailed for five years

By BEVERLY PETER
THE former National Airports Corporation (NAC) managing director Richard Yopo has been sentenced to five years for misappropriation in the National Court.
However, three years were suspended by Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika on the condition that Yopo return a NAC vehicle in good condition and failure to do so would see him serve the full term in jail.
Sir Gibbs in his decision, described Yopo’s act of registering the car, which the NAC had bought for official use, under his name and keeping it for nine years as shameless, corrupt and the actions of a man with no conscience.
“One is not being honest trying to convince himself or herself that what he or she did was not wrong when in fact it was wrong,” he said.
Sir Gibbs told Yopo that he registered the vehicle in his own name when he knew that it was not his car was bought for the office he had occupied.
“You said you realised in 2014 that the car was registered in your name and yet did nothing to correct the record of ownership to have it registered under the true owner NAC,” he said.
“You were meant to leave the car with the next NAC business strategic unit manager but instead continued to keep it as if it was yours because you knew it was difficult to return the car registered in your name.”
Sir Gibbs said he had considered Yopo’s submission that what had happened was the result of his discussion with the former NAC managing director Joseph Kintau.
He said that discussion was verbal and was not part of the contract.
“It is the employment contract that governs that Yopo’s perks and privileges and that verbal discussion appeared to be misconceived and misunderstood,” he said.