Obviously in Fiji it's not only the judge who wears a wig
Parramatta Eels NRL star Maika Sivo charged with indecent assault in Fiji
Perry Duffin and Sadhana Sen, The Daily Telegraph
December 30, 2019 8:19pm
Eels superstar Maika Sivo has been banned from leaving Fiji after he was granted bail on a charge of indecently assaulting a female bartender at a poolside Boxing Day party.
The winger asked in Nadi Magistrates Court yesterday to be allowed to return to Australia to start off-season training with Parramatta but was knocked back.
Magistrate Peni Dalituicama told the NRL star he was “no special case” and ordered him to surrender his passport after the charge he faced was upgraded from indecent annoyance to indecent assault.
Court documents showed Sivo, 26, was charged with “unlawfully and indecently assaulting” Agnes Bauwa “by touching her stomach” on December 26.
Sivo’s lawyer Mosese Naivalu requested to enter a plea on behalf of his client but this was rejected by the magistrate. Instead a plea is expected to be entered on his next court date on January 7.
Mr Dalituicama told the court that “Sivo is no special case” as he placed a “stop departure” on the player’s movements outside Fiji and set bail of $500.
The Fiji National Rugby League Acting CEO Don Natabe was seen by the family’s side during the day.
When approached by The Daily Telegraph outside court, Sivo’s father Joeli Sivo said “everything will be all right”.
“Everything will be all right and is possible with God. He (Sivo) will be back soon. We will take him home.”
Sivo, who was spotted drinking at a luxury resort on Boxing Day on the evening before his arrest, is expected to say he was trying to get the woman’s attention when the incident occurred.
Police say the incident took place near the town of Nadi, about 30km from Sivo’s home village, where he had been with family.
