Suspended sentence for man in fatal Saweni stabbing after court finds victim was attacked first

A young man who fatally stabbed another man during a confrontation outside a Saweni supermarket has been given a suspended prison sentence after the High Court found he had been the victim of an unprovoked attack.

Rishal Kumar was sentenced by the High Court in Lautoka to one year, 11 months and five days imprisonment after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

Justice Sunil Sharma last week ordered that the sentence be suspended for two years, meaning Kumar will not serve jail time unless he commits another offence during that period.

The incident occurred on January 18, 2024, when Kumar stopped at Superfoods Supermarket in Saweni to buy bottled water.

After leaving the supermarket, he was approached by Apakuki Tavodi, who punched him and demanded his Adidas shoes. Court documents state Kumar refused, but Tavodi continued assaulting him by dragging and punching him several times.

During the struggle, Kumar was holding his car keys, which had a flip knife attached. As Tavodi tried to grab the keys, the knife opened and Kumar stabbed him once in the abdomen.

Tavodi was taken to Lautoka Hospital with a severe abdominal wound. Despite undergoing emergency surgery, he later died in the intensive care unit.

Kumar was initially charged with murder and pleaded not guilty. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions later reduced the charge to manslaughter, after which he changed his plea to guilty.

In sentencing, Justice Sharma said the deceased had been the aggressor and had attacked Kumar without provocation. He also noted Kumar had accepted responsibility for his actions and shown genuine remorse.

The judge said that although a life had been lost, the circumstances of the case justified giving the young offender a second chance through rehabilitation instead of immediate imprisonment.

Kumar has 30 days to appeal the sentence.