THE High Court in Suva has acquitted a 24-year-old man accused of stabbing a man multiple times with a pocket knife.
Etuate Koroisau was charged with a count of aggravated robbery which he is alleged to have committed on March 19 last year.
Court records show that the victim, Ashneet Pande, who worked at his brother’s kava shop at Visako in Nadera, was walking to his car with his laptop bag when he was attacked by a lone assailant.
The assailant had approached Mr Pande from the dark and asked for matches. He then began stabbing Mr Pande multiple times on the right arm, chin and cheek before grabbing the laptop bag and fled.
Mr Koroisau denied being the assailant on the basis that he was at home watching television and this was supported with evidence by two witnesses.
After analysing the evidence, Justice Dane Tuiqereqere said he was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim recognised the offender as Mr Koroisau.
“This evidence cannot be reconciled with the fact that he provided descriptions only of the offender and did not identify the accused as the offender until 20 March 2024,” Justice Tuiqereqere stated in a ruling made on August 8.
“It is contradictory to the complainant’s advice to the police and (a medical practitioner who examined him) on 19 March that the offender was an unknown person.
“I have not dealt with the defence’s evidence. I have not addressed the veracity of the accused’s denials or the quality of the evidence from his two witnesses.
“There is no need to do so in light of my findings regarding the reliability of the complainant’s evidence as to the identity of his attacker.”
