Man charged with fraud freed

National

By CHRISTOPHER YOWAT
A MAN charged with 17 counts of fraud was acquitted by the Waigani National Court this week.
Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika freed Murray Willie after the court found that there was no evidence that he had made any false representation to complainant  Moses Kopyoto.
The court heard that Willie was charged with 14 counts of false pretence and three counts of forgery. He had pleaded not guilty.
Sir Gibbs also found that there was also no evidence that the accused had forged documents in relation to cheques that were presented to Kopyoto.
The court found that the evidence presented before the court was circumstantial and that the identification of the accused may have been done by someone else.
The court noticed that the cheques in question before the court may have been created by someone else because there was no evidence to show the accused was involved.
The court heard that on Aug 7, 2015, Kopyoto was contacted by a person whom he believed was an officer of the Department of National Planning and Monitoring regarding accommodation for officers from the department at his lodge.
It heard that a cheque for K55,000 was later presented to Kopyoto’s lodge following  conversation on a mobile phone.
The complainant made various payments as allowances to some people and others were made through deposits to various bank accounts, the court was told.
It heard that the complainant lost K578,000 as result of the process between Aug 8 and Sept 30, 2015.
The court was told that Willie was identified as the person who committed the offence.