Domestic Violence Case
Fiji PM's son charged with domestic violence in Australia
Sydney/UNI: The son of Fijian PM Frank Bainimarama has been charged with a string of domestic violence offences in Australia.
Ratu Meli Bainimarama, 36, is facing 17 charges, including stalking, assault and choking, BBC reported.
He is also accused of damaging property and distributing an intimate image without consent.
Bainimarama has not entered a plea but will "rely on his good character" in any defence, his lawyer said.
The offences allegedly took place in Sydney between Feb. and May, but Bainimarama was arrested last week after a police report was made earlier this month, the BBC report said.
The Fijian national's lawyer had successfully applied for a nationwide suppression order on the case over the weekend.
He had argued that there was a risk information that wouldn't be allowed in court would be published and prejudice a jury.
But a magistrate lifted the suppression order on Friday morning, saying there was nothing extraordinary about the case that warrants secrecy, the report said.
Bainimarama has been granted bail and his matter is due back in court on Oct. 13.
He is the only son of Frank Bainimarama, who has been in power since 2007 after leading a military coup the year before.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
