State v Padiyachi - Sentence [2011] FJHC 435; HAC016.2010 (4 August 2011)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI
AT SUVA
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

HIGH COURT CRIMINAL CASE NO: HAC 016 OF 2010

BETWEEN:

STATE
PROSECUTION

AND:

1. RAVINESH PADIYACHI
2. MOHAMMED NADIM
ACCUSED PERSONS

Counsel: State - Ms. Puamau. S & Ms. Prasad. J
Accused Persons - Mr. Valenitabua. S

Date of Hearing: 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th July, 2011.
Date of Summing Up: 2nd August, 2011.
Date of Judgment: 4th August, 2011.
Date of Sentence: 4th August, 2011.

SENTENCE

[1] Ravinesh Vikash Padiyachi the 1st accused and Mohammed Nadim the 2nd accused you stand convicted of 2 counts of Murder after trial.

[2] The facts of this case were horrendous and disturbing. The victims Ramkrishan Amirthanlingam and Rajamanickam Venkatachalam were doing scrap metal business. 1st accused Ravinesh Padiyachi was employed by the victims as the Manager of their business. 2nd accused Mohammed Nadim was employed as a labourer by the 1st accused. 1st accused was residing in the house of the victims at Nakasi.

[3] On 13th December 2009 the victims were drinking in the living room and the two accused were drinking grog in the porch at the back of the house. Thereafter in the night the two accused persons killed the two victims by slashing their necks. You packed the two bodies in two suitcases which were in the house.

[4] On 15th December you transported the two bodies packed in suitcases to Benai, Ba in the twin cab which belongs to the victims and buried the bodies packed in suitcases in the back yard of the house which belongs to the 2nd accused's father. The house at Benai, Ba was not being occupied by anybody at that time.

[5] The 1st accused told the witnesses Roshni and Ronish, and then the Police that the victims went to the West and that they were missing.

[6] Later, on 16th January 2010 when a labourer was digging a toilet pit in the back garden of the 2nd accused's said house at Benai, Ba, the two suitcases packed with the two bodies were discovered.

[7] The offence of murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. However in terms of Section 18(1) of the Sentencing and Penalties Decree 2009 the court must fix a non-parole period during which the accused is not entitle to be released on parole. I consider the above circumstances and the gruesome way the accused persons killed the victims and concealed the bodies.

[8] Counsel for the accused persons informed the court that he would not plead in mitigation of the sentence. Nevertheless I carefully considered the circumstances that lead to the death of the two deceased persons, but I find no reason to compel me to mitigate the sentence.

[9] Accordingly, on each count I sentence each of you to life imprisonment.
I order that each of you is not eligible to be released on parole until you have served 20 years of imprisonment.

Priyantha Fernando
JUDGE

At Suva
04/08/2011