Court acquits woman
The High Court in Suva has acquitted a woman accused of attempting to set fire to a property in Nakasi in 2019.
Priya Darshani received her verdict from Justice Siainiu Fa’alogo Bull last month.
The prosecution had alleged the 34-year-old woman had attempted to set fire to a house belonging to a Niranjan Singh.
It also alleged that Ms Darshani’s mother-in-law woke up around 10pm on the night in question, when she saw smoke coming from a cushion in the living room and smelled kerosene, which seemed to have been spilt all over the house.
A family member informed the landlord who then called the police.
During trial, Ms Darshani denied sprinkling kerosene on the sofa, cushion, and around the inside of the house. She also denied setting the cushion on fire and trying to set the house alight.
She said, on that night, she was in the bedroom from 7pm when her husband went out of the room until the police arrived around 11pm.
After analysing the evidence, Justice Bull said no witness saw the accused pouring kerosene inside the living room where family members were asleep at the time.
She said inconsistencies, contradictions, and omissions, which did not go to the heart of the matter, such as shaking the basis of the prosecution’s case, should not be given undue importance.
However, she said the many inconsistencies and contradictions in this case, — whether there was a willful and unlawful attempt by the accused to set fire to the house — had created a reasonable doubt.
“Save for hearsay evidence that she had split kerosene in the house and set fire to a cushion, there is no admissible evidence on the essential elements of identity and the physical act required to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt,” Justice Bull said in her ruling .
“On the second alleged attempt, the prosecution witnesses are not consistent that she had matches in her hand or that she had tried to set the place alight.”
She ruled that there was no relevant and admissible evidence of an act amounting to an attempt by Ms Darshani to set fire to the house.
“As a result, I am not sure that she had attempted to do so. I find her not guilty and acquit her accordingly.”
13-year jail term for watchman
The High Court in Suva has sentenced a 54-year-old watchman convicted of raping a four-year-old girl to 13 years and nine months imprisonment.
Court records stated that the building the man used to work at was also used as a church attended by the victim and her family.
On March 2, the victim and her family attended a church service when the security called her while she was wandering in the building’s basement. There, he performed oral sex on her.
The victim’s 12-year-old sister testified that when the church services ended at 3pm, her parents noticed the victim missing. While searching the building, she found her sister’s shoes in the basement and witnessed the incident.
Despite calling out, the man continued the act, so she ran up and told her mother.
Her parents then confronted the man, who smelled heavily of alcohol. He denied their claims and tried to walk away but the parents managed to take him to the Totogo Police Station.
At trial, the court rejected his defence that the victim fabricated the allegations because he had refused to give her money when she approached him.
Passing sentence, Justice Daniel Goundar said the circumstances of the offence were deeply disturbing.
“The victim was a minor attending a church service at a location where you were entrusted with providing security,” Justice Goundar ruled on August 19.
“She was not in the wrong place at the wrong time, nor was she dressed in any way that invited harm. She was an innocent child who briefly went out of sight of her parents.
“You have shown little remorse and, disturbingly, attempted to blame the four-year-old victim for your crime.”
The man will serve 11 years before he can be considered for parole.