Bainimarama’s Son Jailed for Domestic Violence

The son of Fiji’s former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been sentenced to 28 months in jail after violently attacking a former girlfriend in Sydney, Australia, leaving her with a ruptured ear drum.

Meli Bainimarama, 38, previously admitted to a range of domestic violence-related offences including choking his former partner, punching her in the ear and intentionally distributing an intimate image of the pair.

Magistrate Timothy Khoo sentenced Bainimarama to 28 months in jail with a non-parole period of 14 months for three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, two counts of choking without consent and one count of stalking and intimidation.

At his sentencing hearing, the Parramatta Local Court heard Bainimarama started a relationship with the victim in February 2022.

The court heard the abuse started the same month, when the former soldier struck his then girlfriend while she was driving him to the airport.

The attack continued after he made her pull over and start driving again, with Bainimarama punching and scratching her multiple times, leaving her ears ringing afterwards.

The court heard Bainimarama had previously served seven months of a 10-month sentence for domestic violence-related offences committed against another woman in 2023.

While on bail for the offences he committed in 2022, Bainimarama attacked his then estranged wife in the couple’s bedroom.

The prosecution argued Bainimarama posed some risk to the community given that two of his consecutive relationships involved violence against a female partner.

The magistrate acknowledged Bainimarama was “taking genuine steps towards being a better person,” but noted he committed other serious domestic violence offences while on bail for these offences.

He will be eligible for release in January 2026.

Source: ABC