The High Court in Lautoka has ordered the release of three men after reducing their sentences in connection with a 2015 aggravated robbery case. Semi Ralulu, Savenaca Cava, and Ratu Inoke Nauarabota were initially sentenced to nine and a half years in prison in January 2018. They appealed their sentences three years later, arguing that the terms were excessively harsh.
Justice Riyaz Hamza noted in his ruling on October 17 that the Magistrate did not provide adequate reasons for the original starting point of a ten-year sentence for each individual. He stated that the Magistrate had made an error in determining the sentence range of eight to sixteen years.
As a result, the earlier sentence from the Magistrate’s Court of Ba on January 10, 2018, was quashed. Justice Hamza established a new sentence of five years and eleven months for Semi Ralulu, and five years and eight months for Savenaca Cava and Ratu Inoke Nauarabota. Consequently, all three men are to be released immediately.
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