The High Court in Lautoka has ordered the release of three men after reducing their sentences linked to 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. Three years later, they appealed their sentences, arguing that the terms were excessive.
In a ruling issued on October 17, Justice Riyaz Hamza noted that the Magistrate did not provide adequate reasons for choosing a starting point of ten years for each of the appellants. He stated, “It is evident that the Magistrate erred in determining the sentencing range of eight to 16 years.”
Justice Hamza quashed the original sentence from the Magistrate’s Court in Ba, which was handed down on January 10, 2018. He then imposed new sentences of five years and eleven months for Semi Ralulu, and five years and eight months for both Savenaca Cava and Ratu Inoke Nauarabota. Consequently, all three men are to be released immediately.
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