A BBQ seller convicted of being in possession of marijuana and methamphetamine has had his one-year and nine-month jail term set aside by the High Court in Suva.
Justice Daniel Goundar said in his ruling earlier this month the presiding magistrate did not take Roko Mate’s good character into account when determining sentence.
Mate, 25, was jailed by the lower court on January 25 this year after pleading guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of illicit drugs. Since he had already served seven months in remand, he was sentenced to serve the remaining one year and two months with a non-parole period of six months. Court records show police officers on patrol found him loitering on a deserted street late at night.
Upon searching him, the officers discovered 0.8grams of marijuana, and 0.074grams of methamphetamine in a purse he was carrying.
In his ruling, Justice Goundar said the magistrate’s failure in not considering Mate’s good character into account when determining sentence constituted an error in principle in the exercise of the magistrate’s sentencing discretion.
He substituted Mate’s previous head sentence with 15 months, and, given that he had already served seven months in custody on remand, the remaining term of his sentence is eight months effective from January 27 this year.
