Former Airai Procurement Officer Vilma Yoshiwo has been sentenced again after losing the second trial for charges brought against her in 2021.
Ms. Yoshiwo was charged in 2021 on three criminal counts, Theft of Government Property in the First Degree, Code of Ethics violation, and Misconduct in Public Office.
She was convicted of the three counts but her convictions were reversed and her case remanded for a new trial after the appellate court found that the trial court “violated her right to counsel”.
The case went to trial again and she was convicted again on the three counts, Theft of Government Property in the First Degree, Code of Ethics violation and Misconduct in Public Office.
Her sentence order, the court says that the defendant had no criminal records before this case, is unlikely to re-offend and has shown remorse for what led to these filings.
The court sentenced her to eighteen months imprisonment but suspend all and place her on supervised probation for two and half years, meaning she will not serve any prison time.
She will pay total fines of $2,500 ($1,000 for misconduct in public office, $500 for Code of Ethics violation and $1,000 for Theft of Government Property in First Degree). She will also pay restitution to Airai State Government of $2,769.
Other terms of sentence include not working for Airai State for the duration of her probation. If hired by other state governments, she will not be in any capacity that involves handling public funds.