On 14 November 2019, the Victorian Racing Tribunal (VRT) considered a charge issued by Harness Racing Victoria (HRV) Stewards against Sam Taiba under Australian Harness Racing Rule (AHRR) 187(2) for giving false information during an investigation.
Charge 1 under AHRR 187(2) states:
A person shall not refuse to answer questions or to produce a horse, document, substance or piece of equipment, or give false or misleading evidence or information at an inquiry or investigation.
The particulars of this charge related to Mr Taiba giving false evidence to HRV Stewards during an interview regarding the transportation of the horse ‘Nikitaras’ to the Warragul harness race meeting on 21 April 2019.
Mr Taiba attended the hearing and pleaded guilty to the charge prior to the VRT hearing submissions on penalty from HRV Stewards and Mr Taiba.
Penalty
Charge 1 – $1000 fine with $250 suspended for 12 months, providing that during that period Mr Taiba does not reoffend under AHRR 187(2).
VRT Panel: Judge John Bowman (Chairman), Judge Julie Nicholson and Mr Robert Abrahams
The written decisions of the VRT can be found here.
(Please note that VRT Decisions will generally be published within 7-10 days of the date of hearing)
