Suspended Term For Burglars
Two men were handed a suspended sentence for aggravated burglary by the High Court in Lautoka.
Sairusi Tagivetaua and Eveni Koroituku were each charged with one count each of aggravated burglary and theft and appeared before Justice Sunil Sharma.
On July 5, 2018, at about 8pm in Tavua, the two entered the house of Lisiate Fotofili, trespassers with the intention to steal.
They stole a Samsung J5 Prime mobile phone valued at $500, the property of Lisiate Fotofili.
The complainant was awoken close to 10pm when he heard someone moving around his house. He got out of his bed and heard the front door close.
The complainant went inside his house to check for his phone since he wanted to take photos and noticed his phone was missing.
Justice Sharma noted that Tagivetaua was a first offender, lived with his parents and three other siblings and was the eldest and only son.
He noted that Tagivetaua was a third-year student at the University of the South Pacific and was a recipient of the tertiary education loans scheme (TELS).
Justice Sharma noted that Tagivetaua had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was remorseful for his actions.
For the second offender, Justice Sharma noted that Koroituku was 20 years of age, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was a first offender.
Both sought for forgiveness from the court.
Justice Sharma said: “Both the accused persons are young offenders with a bright future ahead of them, an imprisonment term will not augur well for their future.”
Taguvetaua and Koroituku were sentenced to two and half year’s imprisonment respectively, which was suspended for three years.
They were given 30 days to appeal against the sentence.
Edited by Epineri Vula
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