Fraud and Misappropriation Case

Constantinou’s lawyer returned before Magistrate Cosmas Bidar today and sought an adjournment to next week Thursday for the ruling to take place.

Nicholas Constantinou from Bogara, Rabaraba, Milne Bay Province  was arrested on September 20 last year in Port Moresby and charged under section 383A(1) of the Criminal Code. He was later released on a K2,000 bail.

The charge relates to an agreement he went into with the Tari Airport Resource Holdings Limited when NC Civil works was sub-contracted in the developmental phases of the Komo International Airport in 2012.

Maladina is appealing his conviction before a three-man Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices Les Gavara-Nanu, Don Sawong and Terrence Higgins.

On September 21, his lawyer told Justice Stephen Kassman, who was sitting then as a single Supreme Court judge, that they had filed the appeal and served the appeal book to the Public Prosecutor’s office.

The matter will return to the Supreme Court today for the substantive hearing which is his conviction of May 21 that was handed down by the Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika.