Hon David Tome arrested on corruption charges

 

MINISTER of the Crown Hon David Tome has been arrested yesterday for misuse of constituency funds.

He is the current Minister of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening (MPGIS) and Member of Parliament for Baegu/Asifola constituency and is facing 14 counts of conversion in relation to incidents which occurred in 2011.

He appeared in the Honiara Magistrate Court and was released on a $2,000 cash bail.

The court granted him bail with the condition that he will not leave Honiara and Guadalcanal until his case is finalised in court.

It is alleged that in 2011 the MP obtained public funds for a constituency project, however those funds were not used as intended and were converted for his own use.

The MP is charged with 14 counts of conversion under Section 278(1)(c)(i) of the Penal Code, involving funds totalling $67,170.

He will appear again in court on May 4, 2017.

The office of the Director Public Prosecution appears on behalf of the crown.

Police Commissioner acknowledged the commitment and hard work his officers had been doing leading up to the arrest of the Government Minister.

Commissioner Matthew Varley said investigating such case is time consuming since it is a tedious task to make sure that the investigation is carried out fairly and thoroughly and that information put to the court.

He however reiterates that the arrested person is innocent until proven guilty and that it is crucial to, at this point in time, let the court deal with the case.

Therefore, Mr Varley said he cannot comment further on the investigations regarding the incident as the case is before the court.