A Matahau mother of nine children received a three years suspended jail sentence this afternoon July 19, and was disqualified from driving for six years, on a conviction for manslaughter by negligence for running over a sleeping man on a road at Fatai in 2009.

Justice Robert Shuster in sentencing the Unika Tavo (38) at the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa, to three years imprisonment decided to suspend the whole sentence for three years under the condition that she keeps the peace and does not commit any other offence in the next three years. He disqualified her from driving a motor vehicle for six years.

A jury found Tavo guilty in June 2010 over the incident that took place on the night of August 10, 2009. Tavo was the driver of a motor vehicle who failed to keep a proper look out and ran over the head of the victim, Fisi'ipuna Funaki, who was sleeping on the road, causing severe injury to his head and his death.

Serious

Justice Shuster said this was a very serious offence and that Tavo drove off and failed to stop but she should have stopped after she ran over him. But she went home and told her mother and turned herself in to the police shortly after.

The court was also told that she was driving a faulty car whose headlights were not working properly.

Justice Shuster stressed to her that she should have not driven a car if the headlights were not working, especially at night.

He said the aggravating factor against her was that she did not stop. "The law states that you must stop and offer assistance to anyone who might have been injured and I can't give you credit for this," he pointed out.

Justice Shuster accepted that she tried to move to the side of the road to what was apparent to be part of a human body.

"It is never easy for a judge to sentence someone in a motor vehicle case because if I was to fine you $5,000 pa'anga people would ask is that the price of a human life?," he said.

"You have credit that you went to the police station and full credit for leading an unblemished life and being a good mother. I agree with your counsel Sifa Tu'utafaiva that this case was unusual as to find a human being asleep on the road," he said.

But Justice Shuster also stressed, as a driver one must have a high duty of care to road users and the same high duty of care applies to a pilot or a captain of a ship. "It was more an accident as you tried to avoid it but you should have stopped within seeing distance," he added.

He also said that due to the special facts of the case and how unusual that someone was sleeping in the middle of the road he then suspended the entire three years sentence for three years.

Tavo had accepted that her driving had caused the death of the deceased and accepted the jury's guilty verdict.