Tahiti chinaware case against Flosse deferred

3:29 pm on 27 January 2017

The court of appeal in French Polynesia has deferred by two weeks the case of a former French Polynesian president Gaston Flosse and his partner Pascale Haiti fined for taking chinaware from the presidential palace.

Gaston Flosse

Gaston Flosse Photo: RNZ

The delay is due to her lawyer being absent.

Last year, the two were fined just under US$30,000 for taking public property in December 2014 after $US70,000 worth of china and silverware from the palace was found at their home.

The prosecution decided to appeal because the criminal court hadn't given Flosse a one-year jail sentence and his partner a six-month suspended prison sentence.

It also sought to declare him ineligible to hold office for three years but the court decided not to follow suit.

Flosse's lawyer also appealed the sentence last year objecting to there being a fine.

Flosse said he had bought the items in question with his own money.

Flosse, who lost the presidency because of a corruption conviction in September 2014, is already banned from holding public office until 2019 although he challenged the decision, claiming he is eligible to stand again next year.

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