The wife of a bus driver brutally assaulted by three men at the Nausori Bus Stand four years ago says the tragedy has shattered her family.
Roshni Lata, 53, tearfully recounted the day she lost her husband, Subhas Chand, on October 3, 2020.
Last week, Mikaele Vuiwayavi, Josetaki Rabuku, and Isireli Tawake were convicted of manslaughter. They appeared before Justice Daniel Goundar at the High Court in Suva for sentencing and mitigation hearing last week and are expected to be sentenced today.
Ms Lata told the court the tragedy had permanently altered their lives. She now works to support her family and revealed that her youngest daughter had left Fiji for Australia because she couldn’t bear the memories associated with the Nausori Bus Stand.
“They (the accused) have destroyed our house,” Ms Lata told the court.
“I don’t like staying home alone. My life has been destroyed.”
The court was told that on the day of the incident, Tawake claimed he had been hit by a side mirror of the bus Chand was driving.
In response, Tawake and Rabuku confronted Chand, punching him several times in the face and head.
As Chand attempted to defend himself with a spanner, Vuiwayavi stabbed him twice, once in the abdomen and once in the face, with the sharp point of an umbrella.
Chand succumbed to his injuries on October 9 of the same year.
The three men are first-time offenders — aged 24, 25, and 48.
In mitigation, Vuiwayavi apologised to Ms Lata, claiming it was never his intention to kill Chand.
