ONE of the three men jailed for causing the death of a 56-year-old bus driver four years ago has been allowed leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Mikaele Lawaniyavi, 43, was found guilty alongside Isikeli Lagibalavu and Josateki Rabula for the manslaughter of Subhas Chand in 2020.
Trial records stated that the victim drove his bus into the parking bay at the Nausori bus stand to drop off passengers on October 3, 2020.
As he was doing so, he honked to warn the public because it was crowded at the time, It wasa around this time that the side mirror of his bus hit Lagibalavu, who was standing in the bay watching a game with Rabula.
Lagibalavu then confronted the driver who told him that he shouldn’t have been standing in the parking bay area. The two friends then began Chand on the head and face with their fists.
Chand managed to grab hold of a wheel spanner on the floor of the bus to fend off the attack but Lagibalavu managed to strike him on the face with the sharp metal end of his umbrella.
The men were each sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of four years.
On his two grounds of appeal, Lawaniyavi submitted that the conviction could not be supported by evidence because the judge erred in determining that a joint enterprise prevailed between him and his two accomplices.
He also submitted that the judge erred by attributing the cause of death equal degree in both men, while for the sentence, he claimed it was harsh and excessive considering his culpability against the injuries caused to the victim.
In his ruling on August 8, Justice Alipate Qetaki found the three grounds to be arguable and allowed him leave to appeal.