Honiara : 1 April 2017
Letter to the Editor, Solomon Star and Island Sun Newspapers.
In recent weeks we have been reading of the success of operation Janus, the joint taskforce between the RSIPF and the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, following the arrest of several local officials allegedly involved in acts of corruption.
There is currently one case before the court in which a public servant is alleged to have received bribes and while the matter before the court is subject to the rule on sub-judice, I will not comment save to say in bribery cases it takes two or more to tango, to put it bluntly.
While Finance and Treasury records aid police investigations by providing an evidential paper trail facilitating the identification and arrest of alleged corrupt officials, it is hoped that those offering bribes might also be arrested and prosecuted, if the circumstances fit, in terms of section 122 of the Solomon Islands Penal Code which, inter-alia, reads –
“122. Any person who in relation to any offence bribes or
attempts to bribe or makes any promise to any other
person with either of the following two intents-
(a) to obstruct, defeat or pervert the course of
or
(b) to dissuade any person from doing his duty in
connection with the course of justice in the court,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.”
