9 October 2018

Two former employees of a charity that offered domestic violence prevention services for Pacific Islanders have been charged by the Serious Fraud Office.

Tapualii Raewyn Uitime (47) and Betty Leuina Sio (54), both of Auckland, entered no plea when they appeared at the Manukau District Court today.

Ms Uitime, who was the operations manager at the now defunct Pacific Island Safety and Prevention Project (the Project), faces 26 charges of ‘Dishonestly using a document’ and 11 charges of ‘Forgery’. Ms Sio, who was the charity’s chief executive, faces four charges of ‘Dishonestly using a document’.

The Auckland-based organisation received funding from the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Corrections. It offered a range of social support services including a Pacific cultural framework for addressing family violence, family violence education and domestic violence prevention programmes for men.

Ms Uitime and Ms Sio have been remanded on bail to reappear at the Manukau District Court on 30 October.

ENDS

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