A POLICE officer convicted of causing the death of a 47- year-old man will serve two years and 11 months in prison before he can be paroled.
Fifita Tawake Toma, a first offender, was yesterday sentenced to four-years and 11 months by Justice Thushara Rajasinghe.
Toma had initially pleaded not guilty to a charge of manslaughter, however, he changed his plea before the commencement of trial.
Court records show that on January 13 this year, Toma and three other men were travelling in a car in Suva City after drinking kava.
Their car stopped at the traffic lights beside the Westpac Bank on Thompson St at the same time that Peter Lanyon, now deceased, was crossing the road.
While crossing, Lanyon reportedly punched the car which prompted Toma to alight from it and punch Lanyon, who fell unconscious after hitting his head on the road.
He then dragged Lanyon’s body to the other side of the road and left him there from where police officers on duty picked him up and transported him to the CWM Hospital.
Toma has 30 days to appeal his sentence.
