Feuding machete attacker imprisoned [1]
Friday, May 20, 2022 - 20:33
Mafi Fatongiatau Fakatene (22) was sentenced to four-years imprisonment for grievous bodily harm when he wounded a 25-year-old victim with a machete at Fua'amotu.
Hon. Mr Justice Cooper sentenced him on 18 May at the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa.
The accused pleaded guilty to two counts of grievous bodily harm, when he wounded Sio Vaka by cutting his arm with a machete on August 19, 2021. He again wounded the complainant on the shoulder during the same attack.
The judge said the injury in count one was a wound on the top of the outer aspect right arm that cut to the bone that caused the lateral head of the triceps brachii to be severed.
Count two was a slash to his left shoulder, that left a cut about three inches in length but with no severe injury, he said.
The victim was taken to the hospital and was operated on and the wound repaired. He said no major nerves or blood vessels had been damaged nor had the bone been fractured.
The injury being as severe as it was, left him vulnerable to an infection of the bone and he was immediately treated with antibiotics. He was discharged on August 23, 2021.
Long feud
These two men had a long simmering animosity that was punctuated by outbursts of violence.
The judge said on the day in question, the accused was drunk and he had come armed with a machete to the vicinity of the home of the victim.
“There were aggressive acts towards Mr Fakatene; a bottle and a hammer had been thrown at him while he was in the neighbouring graveyard, it is not clear by whom, but from people in Mr Vaka's residence.
“This must have been at a time when Mr Vaka was already awake. I conclude Mr Vaka's original version of waking to the noise of the disturbance with Mr Fakatene already outside the property was untruthful,” he said.
“Mr Fakatene had then come from the area of the grave yard to outside the front of Mr Vaka's property and the fight that ensued consisted of Mr Vaka at some point armed with a metal pipe, though apparently not striking out with it, but using the rocks as weapon.
“Plainly Mr Vaka was a willing participant and Mr Fakatene went there armed with a machete to carry on their feud,” said the judge.
"Denunciation and deterrence are both important sentencing values."
He sentenced the defendant to four-years imprisonment with the last 12-months suspended on conditions
The sentence was back-dated to start to when he was first remanded in custody on October 28, 2021.