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Two men were today committed to stand trial for the burglary of $50,000 property from three government departments and an information technology company in Wellington.
Fua Auvaa, 28, and Thomas Fagasoaia, 37, both unemployed, pleaded not guilty and were remanded on bail until January 27 following at a depositions hearing at Wellington District Court today.
They are accused of burgling the Ministry of Education and Families Commission offices in the Public Trust Building on Lambton Quay on August 8, and Solnet Solutions Limited and the Department of Labour in Solnet House on The Terrace on August 16. The stolen property included laptops and wine.
Police searched the houses of both defendants following a tipoff from an informant, and at Auvaa's home found six bottles of wine matching those taken from the offices.
Defence counsel Sonia Thistoll called for the charges to be dismissed as there was not enough evidence of the defendants' involvement for them to stand trial.
Police could not identify the people shown on CCTV footage, and the wines found at Auvaa's house could be purchased at any supermarket, she said.
- NZPA
