A taxi driver from Navua was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment, in December 2024, after being found gulity for three counts of rape.

The court heard that the victim, a Dutch national, was in Fiji as a volunteer for the Sharks Conservation Project and had used the taxi service of Nafeez Mohammed during her stay.

It was disclosed in court that on August 16, 2023 the young woman and her friends who were also volunteers arranged for Mohammed to take them to Uprising Beach Resort after which the girls invited him to join them.

After having a few drinks, Mohammed forced himself onto the young girl when the two were alone. He pinned her onto the ground with his body and raped her.

In sentencing the offender, Justice Daniel Goundar said that while this was his first offence, the rape was going to affect the victim for the rest of her life.

“The court must also consider the harm that rape does to the victim’s body but also of her soul and mind. The impact of rape is devastating on the victim.”

“In this case, the victim was a visitor away from her home and family when she was raped.”