Lokoua Taufahema (42) was sentenced to 12-years imprisonment for the manslaughter death of his wife who died from severe burns when in a cruel act he poured hot cooking oil on her at Navutoka on the day after Christmas, 26 December, 2014.

The woman died a day later in hospital "as a consequence of what must have been an extremely painful and lingering death," stated the sentencing, which did not refer to the victim by her name or age.

Mr Justice Cato in sentencing the prisoner, who was a former Tonga Football coach, on 26 January set a starting point of 15-years imprisonment to reflect the criminality and cruelty inherent of his actions.

The judge then suspended three-years of the sentence upon conditions, after taking into account his guilty plea, cooperation with police, and his remorse.

On November 23, 2015 a jury had acquitted Taufahema of murdering his wife, named as Halaevalu. He had pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge.

Cruel

The court was told that on December 26, 2014, he poured a pot of hot cooking oil that had been boiled on the stove over his wife Halaevalu's face and upper body deliberately when she was lying on a couch nearby.

The Crown's case was that Taufahema had deliberately poured the oil on the wife intending to cause her bodily injury, and at the time he knew that the injury was likely to cause her death and carried on reckless of whether death ensued or not.

The judge said the prisoner had denied in a record of interview after arrest that he had intended to kill his wife and at trial confirmed that he did not know that it was likely she would die.

"He gave evidence and in his record of interview that his reason for pouring the hot oil upon her was to scar her so should not be attractive for other men. He had believed his wife was having an affair and matters came to a head on Christmas Day 2014 as his wife appeared distant from him."

Justice Cato said on the morning of the assault, Taufahema had planned to take his children to the beach and had started to cook some chicken.

He boiled fat for this purpose. About this time, the accused maintained in his evidence he had seen a text message from his wife's alleged lover to her. He said he loved her and was jealous and wanted her to be scarred so as to keep her for himself, said the judge.

"Provocation in any legal sense in Tonga can only operate as a defence to murder where the accused sees the deceased in the act of adultery with another. That was not the case here, and provocation was not advanced at trial."

However, the judge said the jury plainly gave the prisoner the benefit of the doubt on the central issue at this trial for murder, namely did the prisoner when he poured the pot of oil on the deceased know that accused knew that serious harm was likely to occur.

The standard of foresight of likelihood of death is a high threshold for the Crown to meet under section 87(1)(b) of the Criminal Offences Act to obtain a murder conviction.

"The Crown's case was never one that he intended to kill his wife and I consider that his intention to scar her so she would be unattractive to others was inconsistent with any murderous intent.

"His motive to scar her was callous, brutal and a wicked response to her perceived infidelity. Although I am satisfied that the prisoner's motive for acting as he did was because he believed that his wife was having an affair, I do not regard this as any reason for mitigating his actions. Even if he acted in the belief that his wife was having an affair and out of a misguided attempt to keep her, this could not excuse or lessen the criminality of his actions," said the judge.

Mr Justice Cato said the paramount sentencing factor in a case like this is the loss of human life attributable to the prisoner’s actions.

"A further important sentencing rationale where death arises from a gross act of domestic violence is to denounce and deter the conduct and protect women."

The couple had been married since 2000.

The court appointed the Solicitor General as Guardian ad Litem to make arrangements for the custody and welfare of Taufahema's four children aged 12 to 6 years old.