The State called its second witness to the stand yesterday in the trial of former Agriculture permanent secretary Peniasi Kunatuba.

Inspector Raj Kumar told the High Court he took over investigations into the scheme from Inspector Nasir Ali in October 2004. He said he was currently leading the Agriculture Ministry Fraud Unit.

He then proceeded to read the caution interview he conducted with Mr Kunatuba, which was recorded from August 17, 2005. At the beginning of the interview Mr Kunatuba told police that six companies were contracted by the Agriculture Ministry to supply farming implements. He said these were Suncourt Hardware, RC Manubahi, Morris Hedstrom, Vinod Patel, Repina Wholesalers and Asco Motors.

IP Kumar asked Mr Kunatuba why he exceeded his approval limit of $10,000 for Local Purchase Orders on a number of occasions.

Mr Kunatuba said to understand the scenario, the situation on the ground at that time needed to be re-visited. He said hundreds of people were queuing up asking for assistance. He said for most of the period he was the only authorised signatory for LPOs for the ministry, which had eight divisions.

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