A convicted murderer has been jailed for life for the brutal killing of his one-year-old stepson.
Sairusi Ceinaturaga was sentenced by Justice Siainiu Fa’alogo Bull at the High Court in Suva yesterday after he was found guilty following a trial.
He will serve a minimum term of 18 years before a pardon may be considered.
The 37-year-old had pleaded guilty to backslapping his de facto partner but denied the charge of murdering his stepson.
During trial the court was told that on October 17 last year, Ceinaturaga took a long-handled silver cooking spoon and smacked the child on his head, hands, and legs before throwing him onto the dirt floor of the room.
The child’s mother heard the sound of a slap after which the toddler cried “so badly” for a long time, sounding as though he was in severe pain.
After a while, Ceinaturaga carried the child over his shoulder, shaking him and running around inside the house for about 10 minutes, attempting to revive him.
In her testimony, the mother said she noticed blood coming from the child’s nose and food from his mouth. At this time, he was no longer crying, his eyes were red, and his head appeared “slanted” or “tilted.”
She heard the victim say, “Ma” but when she went closer to check on him, his eyes were closed and he was not breathing.
The child was taken to the hospital hours after the incident, where Ceinaturaga, a former casual worker for the Water Authority of Fiji, told nurses the victim had fallen from a bed.
The court heard that the incident occurred while the victim’s four-year-old brother was in the same room.
A port mortem examination report stated the toddler died from an intracranial haemorrhage.
In her sentencing remarks, Justice Bull said Ceinaturaga’s actions had caused emotional harm and distress to the victim’s mother, who had to endure the pain of losing a child.
To ensure the safety of the victim’s mother and brother, Justice Bull also imposed a permanent domestic violence restraining order.
