Machete attacker continues jail term [1]
Wednesday, May 1, 2019 - 18:00
Siokatame Tupou continues to serve a lengthy imprisonment term for attacking and injuring two men with a machete in 2017, after the Appeal Court dismissed his appeal against sentence.
He pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to grievous bodily harm and causing serious bodily harm. He was sentenced to six-years imprisonment by Hon Mr Justice Cato, who suspended the last two-years of his sentence.
The prisoner then appealed against his six-years imprisonment. He was sentenced relating to an incident on December 23, 2017, when he attacked two men with a machete, causing very serious injury to one named Simote and less serious injury to the other named Siua.
His counsel had advanced the appeal on the basis that there was a degree of provocation by the victims and that his client’s counsel at the time did not raise at sentencing. He also submitted that the sentence should have been reduced by 12 to 18 months and that the period of the suspension should have been longer.
The Court said this prisoner was 21years old at the time of the offending and had been drinking alcohol with a group of young men including the two victims. At one point there was an argument between the prisoner and Simote and they had a fight.
Simote apologized and the prisoner accepted the apology.
The prisoner then went to his home, obtained a machete, and returned to the place where the victims and others were still drinking. He then carried out a sustained attack on Siua, attempting to strike him on five occasions with the machete and then once more after he fell.
He then chased after Simote and hit him repeatedly about the head with the machete after he fell. When Simote got up and tried to run away, the prisoner chased and caught him. He continued hitting the victim with the machete. The attack only stopped when his younger brother took the machete away from him.
The Court said Siua sustained multiple lacerations to his left arm, forearm and hand. Fortunately these had healed with no long-term complications.
The injuries to Simote were serious. He received multiple lacerations to his left arm, forearm and hand, an open fracture to the ulnar bone and cuts to the ulnar nerve and artery and cut tendons on three fingers. These injuries required two major operations and more surgery might be needed.
He is most likely to have a degree of permanent chronic arthritis and limited movement of the left wrist and two of his fingers.
The Court was satisfied that the sentence was within the available range and that the evidence of provocation relied upon did not suggest the sentence ought to be interfered with.
“We are satisfied that the sentencing judge's composition of the overall effective sentence was appropriate.”
In addition to the seriousness of the offending, the Court was not persuaded that the sentence should have been suspended for a longer period.
“Offenders inflicting serious injury with a weapon must ordinarily expect to serve a term of imprisonment. That is particularly so given the prevalence and availability of machetes,” the court stated.