The Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Protection plans to reach out to the child of a 54-year-old taxidriver, Latchman, who allegedly killed his wife, Artika Kumari, before taking his own life.
The tragic incident took place at the couple’s home in Malolo, Nadi last week.
Sources revealed that Latchman had been detained by police for criminal intimidation just a day before the alleged offence
Minister Sashi Kiran said it was extremely tragic to see a young life lost.
“Sadly, we have been talking about domestic violence and there are many mechanisms in place but obviously not enough,” Ms Kiran said.
“We’ll be reaching out to see what support we can give the child but also we need to do much more work to prevent further events like this from happening.”
She said Latchman’s brief detainment period by police may have aided in the escalation of his anger issues which led him to commit the alleged offence
Additionally, the minister said, this underscored the need for men to undergo counselling to address the root causes of domestic violence cases.
“When the person was in the cell overnight, he probably had major anger issues and he didn’t receive the right kind of counselling and this was probably no processing for him to be able to come and do that sort of action.
“And for a woman to lose her life in her own home with somebody she loved makes you question where do you place your trust.”
Ms Kiran said many were not aware of how their extreme actions impacted their families.
“The one thing also people don’t realise when they take extreme actions is the impact it has on the children.”
