A 29-YEAR-old Fijian man is in the custody of Australian Corrective Services after allegedly stabbing his Fijian partner to death while their 13-month-old child slept in the next room.
The incident happened on Sunday at the couple's bungalow at North Narrabeen in Sydney.
Dee Why Police confirmed the details yesterday, saying they had identified the suspect as Ratu Serutawake.
Speaking to The Fiji Times, Dee Why Police crime manager Detective Inspector Craig Wonders said the name of the 22-year-old deceased woman was yet to be released.
"We will wait to inform her next of kin in Fiji before her name is released, however, the child was unharmed and at the moment is currently in the care of relatives," Det-Insp Wonders said.
He said the incident was reported to Dee Why police by relatives of the suspect at 4.30 on Sunday morning.
"The 22-year-old woman believed to be the partner of the man was located on the floor of the premises in their bungalow cabin with stab wounds to her chest," he said.
"The man was arrested by police at the bungalow and a crime scene was established."
Det-Insp Wonders said the 29-year-old man was later charged with murder and appeared before the Hornsby local courts yesterday morning.
"He is currently in the custody of Corrective services and will appear again for mention at a later date," he said.
"The murder is being investigated by North Narrabeen detectives."
Attempts to get in touch with the Fiji Consulate General in Sydney and the Fiji High Commission in Canberra for comment yesterday were unsuccessful.