State v Nadolomoka [1990] FJHC 76; Hac0027t.1988s (13 November 1990)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI
(AT SUVA)

Criminal Case No. 27 of 1988

STATE

v.

ISOA NADOLOMOKA

SENTENCE

The accused has pleaded guilty and been convicted for an offence of Manslaughter.

At the time of the offence he held the rank of Cpl. in the Territorial Forces and was senior NCO at the QRF base at Draiba. The deceased who attended the QRF Unit Christmas party on that fateful evening was a member of the regular army holding the rank of Lance/Cpl.

The circumstances which gave rise to the offence are unusual and unfortunate and bears repeating. The accused boarded a van carrying military personnel in which the deceased was already seated with the accused's superior officer.

During the journey the accused was heard to question the deceased whether he was a soldier or a civilian presumably because he didn't know him and the vehicle was being used to carry army personnel at the time.

The deceased who was an older man with a higher rank than the accused was embarrassed and took offence to the questioning by the accused. As a result the deceased also disembarked from the van when it stopped at Draiba to allow the accused and others to get off.

That was not the deceased's proper point of disembarkation and despite attempts to get him to reboard the van he continued to walk away. The accused then approached the deceased to try to persuade him to return but instead the deceased expressed his refusal in fairly vulgar terms and took a swing at the accused.

The accused evaded the blow and swung a punch at the deceased which hit him on the forehead - and caused him to back heavily onto the road. The deceased was taken to the CWM Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. A Post Mortem examination revealed that the deceased had a fractured skull and extensive bleeding in the brain.

This incident arose from an unfortunate misunderstanding which escalated into a tragedy. With hindsight one could say the accused should not have questioned the deceased in the manner he did and in the presence of a senior officer; the deceased for his part should not have been so-offended by the questioning or reacted with such hostility.

I have listened to all that has been urged on behalf of the accused by his learned counsel and I have borne in mind the accused's guilty plea and the 2 weeks he spent in custody after being charged with this offence and which included Christmas day 1987.

I am also aware that this incident occurred in December 1987 and it has hung over the accused for almost 3 years and will doubtless haunt him for years to come.

Needless to say many things have changed since then not the least of which is the fact that the accused has become a father to 2 infant children and has become an active lay preacher in his church.

I am content to treat this case as a "one-punch manslaughter" bearing extenuating circumstances.

Nevertheless the taking of a human life is a serious matter and in this case a custodial sentence is called for. The accused is sentenced to 2 years imprisonment but recognising that the circumstances of this case were unusual and not entirely the fault of the accused I propose to suspend the sentence for a period of 2 years.

The accused is advised that if he commits an imprisonment offence in the next 2 years he may be required to serve this sentence along with any other sentence that may be passed on him for his re-offending.

(D.V. Fatiaki)
JUDGE

At Suva,
13th November, 1990.

HAC0027T.88S