A 59-year-old carpenter, Samuela Bale Rabuatoka, had his manslaughter sentence reduced by six months. He was originally sentenced to three years in prison by Justice Rajasinghe in the High Court in Suva. Of the three-year sentence, Rabuatoka was mandated to serve 18 months in prison, with the remaining 18 months suspended for three years.
Due to time already spent in remand, Rabuatoka will now serve a total of 12 months in prison. Court records indicate that Rabuatoka was with his nephew and friends consuming alcohol when an incident occurred. While purchasing more liquor, two unknown individuals attempted to start their vehicle. In an effort to confront them, Rabuatoka inadvertently struck his nephew in the chin, who then fell and hit his head on the concrete floor.
Although the nephew regained consciousness, he later succumbed to internal head injuries. Justice Rajasinghe highlighted the profound impact of the victim’s death on the family, noting that the level of harm caused was significantly high. The circumstances suggested that there had been no previous conflict between Rabuatoka and the victim and that the incident was a tragic coincidence.
Rabuatoka has expressed remorse and extended a traditional apology to the victim’s family. He has no prior convictions, which contributed to a more lenient sentence based on his previous good character and early guilty plea. Rabuatoka has 30 days to file an appeal.