A 50-year-old security guard convicted of murder has been sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 16 years. Justice Pita Bulamainaivalu found Joni Raciri guilty of murdering 21-year-old Nanise Rorovanua Saukitoga and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to 18-year-old Setaita Rasea.
During the proceedings in the High Court, it was revealed that on June 9 of the previous year, Raciri was consuming alcohol at his employer’s house alongside the two women. He locked the main gate, which frightened Rasea, causing her to cry.
Later that evening, around 8:30 PM, Raciri became enraged upon overhearing the women expressing their desire to leave. When they asked him to open the gate, he took a garden hoe and struck Saukitoga multiple times in the face. He continued to hit her even after she had fallen to the ground and was unresponsive. Rasea was also injured when Raciri struck her arm with the hoe while she attempted to climb over the locked gate.
In his defense, it was disclosed that Raciri is a divorced father of two children, aged 20 and 15. He has 30 days to file an appeal against his sentence.