The High Court in Lautoka has ordered the release of three men after reducing their sentences related to an aggravated robbery case from 2015. Semi Ralulu, Savenaca Cava, and Ratu Inoke Nauarabota were originally 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.
In his ruling on October 17, Justice Riyaz Hamza noted that the Magistrate did not provide adequate reasons for choosing a starting point of 10 years imprisonment for each of the appellants, indicating a sentencing error in the range of eight to 16 years.
The court quashed the previous sentence from the Magistrate’s Court of Ba and set new terms: Semi Ralulu will serve five years and 11 months, while Savenaca Cava and Ratu Inoke Nauarabota will each serve five years and eight months. Consequently, all three men are to be released immediately.
Leave a comment