Suva Magistrate Liyanage Wickaramasekara will give his ruling on the bail application of Jone Vakarisi Junior and others on the 21st of this month.
Vakarisi Junior, Jese Sorovi, Tevita Bulanaivalu, Ledua Gudru, Sekove Serukalou, Toni Sokoiwasa, Chanel Antonio and Mark Ross are charged with going equipped for theft, criminal intimidation, damaging property and resisting arrest.
They allegedly struck a police vehicle with iron rods and cane knives while others stoned the vehicle with the officers still inside and unable to get out on the 20th of August last year.
Magistrate Wickarama-sekara had today asked prosecution to give a reasonable explanation about not being able to locate serving remand prisoner, Jese Sorovi, if not the rest of the remand prisoners in the case will be released on bail.
The Police prosecutor informed the court that Sorovi was released from the Nasinu Corrections Centre on the 26th of January and there was no remand warrant.
However, Magistrate Wickaramasekara informed the prosecutor that Sorovi was present in court on the 4th of February and the court had remanded him.
He says it feels like the prosecution was not interested whether the accused has been remanded or released on bail.
Magistrate Wickaramasekara says he had asked the prosecution for a substantive reason as to why Sorovi was not in court and the prosecution did not provide it.
