The High Court in Suva has handed down a two-year suspended prison sentence to 19-year-old Sairusi Rokosalu following his conviction for arson
Justice Daniel Goundar delivered the ruling today, ordering that the two-year term be wholly suspended for three years.
The court heard that on February 16, at approximately midday, Rokosalu intentionally set fire to old curtains inside the Nakorovatu Village Hall in Vunidawa using a gas lighter.
A fellow villager, Kamineli Ratova, spotted Rokosalu near the building shortly before black smoke was seen coming from the hall. Quick intervention by village youths, who poured water onto the building, contained the fire and prevented the total destruction of the communal facility, though material damage was caused to the hall and its contents.
The court heard the fire caused $13,350.50 in damage to the hall and its contents.
Rokosalu entered an early and unequivocal guilty plea, had no prior criminal record, and spent over three months deprived of liberty in remand custody and at Saint Giles Hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
Most significantly, medical reports and oral evidence from his father, Senitiki Naurisau, established that Rokosalu underwent neurological surgery as a young child. This left him with slow cognitive development, reading difficulties, and ongoing epilepsy.
The court determined that while his legal responsibility remained, these severe neurological and developmental impairments materially reduced his moral culpability, requiring a treatment-focused approach rather than immediate incarceration.
In suspending the sentence, Justice Goundar highlighted that Rokosalu’s family could provide a stable, supervised environment in the village to maintain his treatment, medication, and care. Traditional reconciliation had also been accepted by village leadership.
However, the judge cautioned that the suspension is a final opportunity rather than an act of indulgence, warning Rokosalu that any reoffending or breach of conditions within the three-year period will trigger the immediate execution of the prison sentence.
