A Solomon Islands Chief Magistrate has given a four months suspended sentence to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development, Selina Boso for failing to furnish information to the Ombudsman.
Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Kouhota in his ruling told Miss Boso that the Ombudsman had requested the information from her about the country's controversial Taiwanese funded Constituency Development Fund.
He said as Miss Boso is a permanent secretary, she had an obligation to help the Ombudsman with his investigation into matters of national interest.
Mr Kouhota said Miss Boso had however deliberately chosen not to cooperate with the Ombudsman's investigators and wilfully had failed to provide the information which was vital to their investigations.
He reminded Miss Boso that she withheld the information they were required to collect under their constitutional and statutory functions.
Mr Kouhota described Miss Boso's behaviour as weird and had acted as someone who felt she was above the law.