French Polynesia's criminal court has given a suspended three-year jail sentence to a businessman for producing forgeries to deceive a Chinese company.
Coco Taputuarai was found to have falsified documents in 2016 while purporting to carry out work for Tahiti Nui Ocean Foods, which plans to set up a fish farm on Hao atoll.
Chinese delegation to Hao atoll, June 2014 Photo: Photo courtesy of Govt of French Polynesia
The company said Taputarai's actions cost it financial losses and caused the project to be delayed by three years.
According to local media reports, he has also been fined $US50,000 and ordered to pay the Chinese investor $US500,000 in damages.
Taputuarai's lawyer said his client did not intend to commit fraud, but was just incompetent.
He said he will appeal the sentence.
