Tonga Communications Corporation chief executive Rizvi Jurangpathy who appealed a Supreme Court decision to dismiss an application he had submitted has withdrawn the appeal on Thursday.

In December the Supreme Court has dismissed an application by Jurangpathy  to have an investigation of his behaviour by the Commissioner for Public Relations halted until a defamation case against Kele’a newspaper has been completed.

In June 2015 the then Member of Parliament Māteni Tapueluelu made a number of allegations against  Jurangpathy, which were reported in Kele’a newspaper.

The newspaper alleged that Mr. Jurangpathy had committed indecent acts upon, and was having affairs with, staff members, was misusing TCC funds and dismissing employees for improper reasons.

Mr. Jurangpathy denied the allegations.

However his legal counsel Clive Edwards Snr told the appeal judges in Nukuʻalofa they had decided to withdraw the appeal.

It has been revealed in court the investigation by the Public Relations Commissioner has been completed and a report is to be submitted to the Prime Minister.

This was the first case heard after Tonga’s Court of Appeal 2017 session began hearing six appeals from March 9-10 with judgments to be delivered on Thursday, March 16.

The appeal judges from New Zealand were Michael Moore, Peter Blanchard and Rodney Henson.

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