A former top politician in French Polynesia, Emile Vernaudon, has been given a suspended three-year prison sentence for abusing public funds in a questionable land deal a decade ago.
The court in Papeete also ruled that he be deprived of his civic rights for three years.
The head of the Indigenous Customary Council in Tahiti, Joinville Pomare, was also convicted over the affair but has said he will lodge an appeal.
Vernaudon was convicted in his role as the mayor of Mahina at the time.
Vernaudon, who has also been a member of the French National Assembly, made legal history in 2008 when he became the first person under French jurisdiction to be elected mayor while in jail.
Former Tahiti politician Emile Vernaudon Photo: AFP
