LORD Dalgety is scheduled to appear at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on Monday, November 1 for the start of his trial on a charge of perjury relating to a statement he made at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika.

Lord Dalgety, also known as Ramsay Robertson Dalgety QC, first appeared before former Chief Justice Anthony Ford in April this year, and pleaded not guilty to one count of perjury.

The indictment it stated that on January 19, 2010, at Kolofo'ou, the accused had made under affirmation in a judicial proceeding before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika, a material statement relating to a matter of fact which he knew to be false. The statement arose from a question from the Counsel Assisting the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the Ashika Manuel Varitimos who asked Dalgety if he knew what the shareholding in Ocean Pacific Limited is.

Dalgety was the company secretary for the Shipping Corporation of Polynesia Ltd that managed the ill-fated Princess Ashika ferry that sank in Ha'apai waters on August 5, 2009.

The Supreme Court confirmed that the trial is expected to take a week before a judge alone.