Payroll officer sentenced

By BEVERLY PETER
A NATIONAL Court has sentenced a payroll officer of Book Bilong Pikinini (BBP) to six years with hard labour for misappropriating K133,189.79 intended to boost the literacy level of children through early childhood learning.
Judge Nicholas Miviri said Bredley Tuvi of Ramale village in Kokopo, East New Britain had committed a serious offence as the money misappropriated was of a non-government organisation funded to benefit children in early learning. “BBP has suffered in the donations that were made being affected because some of the donors have withdrawn funding. This has affected the level of service provided being cut down and children who benefitted have now suffered because of the crime Tuvi committed,” he said.
The court learnt that Tuvi when employed with the BBP between Jan 1, 2017 and April 30, 2018 deposited 71 cheques to various accounts totalling K618,398.09. From that money, the court found that Tuvi benefited K133,189.79 and put to his own use money belonging to the school.
Tuvi pleaded guilty to the offence. Miviri said the offence was of a serious nature because it was carefully organised and committed over time.
“It is serious, in the way, the offence is organised and systematic in the misappropriation of the funds that were intended for the BBP which is a non-government entity depended on donations.
“It was clearly well thought out scheme and in the way the offence was committed, it was no spur of the moment offence, nor an opportunity offence,” he said.
He added that the money would not be recouped as there was no evidence of the capabilities of Tuvi to pay compensation.
“He lost his job and cannot pay it back,”Justice Miviri said.
Miviri proceeded to sentence Tuvi to six years in jail and ordered that any time spent in custody already be deducted.