Police v Siliato [2011] WSSC 20 (17 February 2011)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA

HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

POLICE
Prosecution

AND:

LINO SILIATO male of Lano Savaii
Defendant

Counsels: Gafatasi Patu for prosecution
Siaki Tuala for defendant

Submissions: 17 February 2011
Sentence: 17 February 2011

SENTENCE

The charge

1. The defendant was found guilty by panel of assessors on the charge of attempted murder. For that offence he is liable to imprisonment for life.
   

The offending

2. The offence took place at Lano on the 13th February 2010 at the house of the accused. The victim is the de facto husband of the sister of the accused. Prior to the date of the offending, the victim and his wife operated a copra drying business. When the copra dryer got burned and was completely destroyed, the victim suspected the accused and the accused's brother of arson. Two days after the dryer was burned to the ground the victim in a loud voice made the accusation to his wife inside the accused's family main house.
   
3. The accused and his brother who were at the family kitchen next door heard the accusations and they both walked over to the main house where the victim and his wife and their young child were. The accused who was armed with the bush knife followed his brother. While the accused's brother was questioning the victim about his accusations, the accused without warning struck the victim with the knife which injured the victim's right shoulder. As the victim rushed out of the house and attempted to pick up a knife lying on the steps outside he was struck again. He fended off the blow with his left arm and his wrist was injured. A third strike by the accused landed on the head of the victim. The victim then staggered to the road followed by the accused and his brother. Villagers on the road chased away the accused and his brother and took the victim to Tuasivi hospital.
   

Medical Report

4. During the course of the defended hearing the medical report for the victim was produced. The victim was stablished at Tuasivi hospital and transferred to the National Hospital, Apia the next day. He sustained deep cuts to his head, right shoulder and left wrist. He had lost a lot of blood prior to arrival at hospital but was still conscious upon examination. He was however resuscitated with intravenous fluids and antibiotics and received blood transfusion that night. The next day on the very first boat the victim was transferred to the National Hospital for CT Scan and Surgical treatments.
   

Accused

5. The accused is a 33 single man from the village of Lano and the 6th of the ten children. A planter and fisherman by occupation, he is described in the probation report as having limited education, has spent all his life in his village serving the tautua to the family, village and church. He is a first offender and described by the matai of his family as gentle, loyal and supportive. His offending although completely out of character is nonetheless very tragic and very serious.
   

Mitigating Factors

6. The accused is treated as a first offender. The Court accepts that he is truly remorseful and the Court also accepts that there was some degree of provocation by the victim.
   

Aggravating Factors

7. A dangerous weapon was used. There were 3 strikes delivered and all the strikes were delivered to the face and upper body of the victim. The assault only ceased when the victim ran away. In finding the accused guilty the assessors rejected the defence of self defence and the Court must agree with the assessors. One blow was delivered inside the house and the victim ran outside. The second blow delivered to the victim's head was fended off by the victim's hand injuring the wrist. Had not the wrist absorbed the momentum of that blow it could have resulted in a very fatal injury to the head or face.
   

Submissions by counsel for Accused

8. The defence counsel submitted that the offending was at the lower end of the scale. He also submitted that the circumstances show a tragic and isolated event which escalated in the heat of the moment within a very brief moment. He also submitted that there is no threat to the community and a community based sentence is the appropriate sentence. In other words he submitted that a custodial sentence is not the appropriate one in this case. The Court must reject that submission.
   

Decision

9. When the accused left the family kitchen to approach the victim who had uttered the accusation, the accused was angry. He armed himself with the knife for a purpose. He immediately used that knife upon confronting the victim who was with his wife and young child. In the presence of his sister the accused delivered the first blow. There was no need for self defence because the victim was not armed. The blows were brutal and the injuries suffered were severe. They were life threatening indeed the victim was very fortunate to survive the injuries. The medical report and the victim impact report both indicate permanent and long lasting physical and psychological harm and discomfort.
   

Sentence

10. Taking into account the aggravating and mitigating factors of the offending, I regard 8 years as a starting point. For his previous good character and signs of remorse I deduct 2 years. For the degree of provocation I further deduct 1 year and 6 months. He will serve 4 years and 6 months imprisonment.
    

__________________
JUSTICE VAAI