Judge questions State over remand time in Cilicewa murder case

Convicted murderer Anare Cilicewa will learn his fate on September 18 after the State called for a lengthy prison sentence for the murder of his partner, Shabeen Ali.

Cilicewa, 33, was found guilty on August 22 of murdering Ms Ali at a home in Raiwaqa in December 2023.

He appeared before Puisne Judge Justice Pita Bulamainaivalu on Friday for his sentencing hearing, where State Prosecutor Simione Seruvatu sought the maximum sentence tariff of 20 years.

Mr Seruvatu submitted that the court should impose an additional two years for aggravating factors.

These included Cilicewa’s disregard for life, breach of the victim’s trust and use of excessive violence. The court heard that Cilicewa was married with four children, all of whom reside in New Zealand.

His lawyer from the Legal Aid Commission, Monisha Singh, argued that Cilicewa was a first offender and had previously been of good character.

Ms Singh said he had no previous convictions and had worked in customer service before the incident.

Although the maximum sentence tariff was life imprisonment, Ms Singh asked the court to consider 18 years as a starting point, with a further two-year reduction for mitigating factors and time spent in remand.

She said Cilicewa had spent a total of one year, 11 months and 19 days in remand.

Mr Seruvatu told the court that time spent in remand should not be considered because the maximum tariff was life imprisonment.

Justice Bulamainaivalu told Mr Seruvatu that accepting his submission would affect current sentencing practice, citing Section 24 of the Sentencing and Penalties Act, which requires the court to deduct time served in remand from the sentence.

He said the section recognised the rights of accused persons and the presumption of innocence while they were in remand before being found guilty.

Cilicewa remains in remand until his sentence is handed down on September 18.