AN appeal by a serial thief was allowed by the High Court in Suva which reduced his 22-month prison sentence after finding the lower court committed a double-counting error by picking an overly high starting point.
Justice Sunil Sharma quashed the sentence imposed on Atelemo Waqa by the Nadi Magistrate’s Court and re-sentenced him to 16 months and 17 days’ imprisonment.
Waqa had pleaded guilty to stealing a mobile valued at $350 from a Total Health Pharmacy employee in Nadi this year.
The court was told that Waqa went to the pharmacy claiming he wanted to buy haemorrhoid tablets. Once inside, he distracted the employee, took her phone from beneath the counter, and fled. CCTV footage later identified him.
The magistrate’s court initially sentenced Waqa to 22 months and 17 days imprisonment with a 16-month non-parole period.
On appeal, Justice Sharma held that the magistrate erred by adopting a two-year starting point at the higher end of the tariff and adding another year for aggravating factors.
The court noted that this was Waqa’s fourth conviction for theft-related offences within the past 10 years.
Justice Sharma set aside the non-parole period, leaving early release to the Corrections Commissioner’s discretion.
