SIONE Vaomotou (36) who killed his wife Fotu'aika Vaomotou by stabbing her over 20 times while she was sleeping in May last year, was sentenced to 14 years at Hu'atolitoli Prison on September 15.

At the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court, Justice Shuster sentenced Vaomotou to 16 years imprisonment but after considering mitigating factors such as having no previous conviction and his guilty plea suspended the final two years. This meant that Sione would be serving a total of 14 years imprisonment backdated to when he was in police custody in August last year.

Vaomotou who appeared for his jury trial earlier in July this year was charged with murder of which he was acquitted by the Jurors who found him guilty on a lesser charge of manslaughter.

The 25-year-old victim was attacked while sleeping at her uncle's home at Ma'ufanga, and Vaomotou broke in to the house and stabbed her stabbed her repeatedly causing her death. A medical report from the doctor confirmed 23 stab wounds was found on her body.

The victim had lodged a complaint against her husband that resulted in a charge of assault but she was killed the day before he was due to appear in court on May 22, 2009 on the charge.

But the jury decided on the lesser charge of manslaughter after hearing that the accused was angry with his wife's behaviour.

Justice Shuster in his sentencing remarks said that the action by Vaomotou was pre-mediated as he had a knife which he had sharpened and he followed his wife around before committing the crime.

The couple who were married in Ha'apai in 2001 had a six year old girl and three year old boy.