EIGHT soldiers and a former police officer found guilty of manslaughter in the murder trial of Nadi youth Sakiusa Rabaka were handed four year prison sentences yesterday.
A packed courtroom heard Lautoka High Court judge Justice Daniel Goundar tell the nine accused that the offenses were committed in a joint enterprise and he would not apportion individual culpability.
"Under the doctrine of joint enterprise it does not matter who struck the fatal blow. You all acted with a common intention to take the deceased and the complainants to a military training site called Black Rock, to assault them," Justice Goundar said.
"Sakiusa Rabaka died of the assaults he sustained at Black Rock."
The nine Patrick Nayacalagilagi, Taione Lua, Ulaisi Radike, Etonio Nadura, Ratunaisa Toutou, Joeli Lesavua, Jona Nareki, Ilaisa Kurimavua and Napolioni Naulia were sentenced to four years imprisonment for manslaughter and four months imprisonment for each count of assault occasioning bodily harm. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
Justice Goundar said in meting out the sentence he took into account the fact the offences were not the worst of its kind and fell in the medium range of sentence for manslaughter and lower scale of the tariff for assault.
However, he said while the motive of arrest was to maintain law and order, he could not ignore the fact that the group breached their legal duty to protect those arrested from any harm whilst in custody.
"Instead of being the custodian of law, you took the law into your own hands and became both the jury of guilt and executor of punishment," Justice Goundar said.
"Every detainee in this country is entitled to the constitutional guarantees such due process of law and protection from degrading and inhumane treatment. By your conduct you denied the deceased and the complainants the due process of law that you enjoyed in this trial."
"The deceased and the complainants were not given an opportunity to be heard and to defend themselves. You punished them without a finding of guilt. They were subjected to degrading and inhumane treatment as a form of punishment. They were made to strip and do military type physical exercises. During the exercises they were continuously kicked, punched and hit."
He refused a defence submission for bail pending appeal on the sentence.
