Soldier evades jail in manslaughter death [1]
Friday, December 22, 2017 - 17:10
Petelo Tapueluelu who pleaded guilty to the manslaughter death of Kelekolio Fahiua in Neiafu received a fully suspended jail sentence on December 7.
The 28-year-old, who is serving in His Majesty’s Armed Forces, had punched the 18-year-old victim in the early morning of December 30, 2016 causing serious injuries to his spine, which led to this death. The victim died upon arrival at the hospital.
Hon Justice Cato said this case is tragic because it involved the death of a young man.
The court heard that both had been drinking separately before the incident. At around 3:00am, the victim was at a restaurant with his friend after drinking earlier. They heard a commotion and went out to investigate. The accused who had been drinking, also heard the fight and went to break it up.
The accused chased a large number of youths away, when the victim and his friend walked towards him. The victim asked who they were and swore at them. The accused then walked towards him and punched him twice.
Punch
The judge said that an amended summary of facts recorded the accused had punched the victim towards the head area, which the victim blocked with his hands.
The victim turned around and walked about five meters before collapsing to the ground, chin first on the pavement. The accused ran to his aid and rushed him to the hospital.
He said the post-mortem said he suffered a cervical spinal injury at the most serious level, which resulted in his inability to breathe leading to his death.
Justice Cato said it is always difficult fixing a starting point for sentencing manslaughter because the circumstances vary greatly.
In this case, he fixed a starting point of three-years and six-months imprisonment, on the basis the accused had accepted that his actions materially contributed to the victim falling to the ground with tragic consequences.
"Because violence was involved but there was no evidence of connection with the head. I consider this case falls into the lower range," he said.
"Had I been satisfied that the accused punched the deceased in the head and as a consequence he had almost immediately fallen to the ground, the starting point would have been higher."
As mitigation, the judge acknowledged the special importance of the guilty plea and allowed 12-months and granted a further nine-months discount for his record of service, apology and contribution to the funeral and overall good character.
The judge then sentenced him to one-year and nine-months imprisonment for manslaughter, which he fully suspended under strict conditions.