The High Court in Lautoka has allowed the State to file a late appeal against the sentence of a man convicted of defilement.
Presiding judge Justice Riyaz Hamza, however, ruled that the original sentence must remain valid and shall not be varied.
The man was charged in 2018 of the offence and found guilty by the Sigatoka Magistrate’s Court in 2023. He was ordered to serve 37 months in prison, with a non-parole period of 28 months.
The State filed an application to appeal 28 days late.
The State’s ground of appeal was that the magistrate erred in law by applying the wrong tariff, resulting in a lenient sentence.
The delay in filing was explained as being due to internal administrative processes, coupled with the delay in the ODPP receiving the police docket and a copy of the judgment and sentence.
Justice Hamza said the court found the State’s proposed reason for the ground of appeal had some merit.
“The respondent has already served a period of 22 months of his sentence. I am informed that his date of release has been set for 13 April 2026,”Justice Hamza said.
The judge said he believed the sentence imposed was just and equitable, considering all factors in the case.
