Man Jailed for Raping Colleague’s Partner

Aman who raped his colleague’s partner has been handed 10 years in jail. The court found the offender guilty and convicted him for three counts of rape.

On April 10, 2021, the victim and her partner organised a belated Christmas party at their house in Samabula where the partner’s work colleagues were invited.

The victim and her partner met the offender and two colleagues while out shopping that morning.

When they returned home, they started drinking alcohol from 10am to 1pm. Other colleagues arrived after 1.30pm and they began drinking alcohol, while others drank grog. The barbecue started at 4pm and everyone enjoyed food, alcohol, and yaqona. The offender was so drunk that he knocked out in the house near the victim and her partner’s bed. The party concluded between 10pm and 11pm, when everyone returned to their homes. The offender was still sleeping near the victim and her partner’s bed.

After midnight, the victim and her partner returned to their bed and slept. In the early morning on April 11, 2021, the offender crept to where the victim was sleeping and raped her.

High Court Judge Justice Salesi Temo while sentencing the offender on Friday said the offence of rape carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and that the Parliament viewed the offence as a serious one.

He said it violated the dignity of a person and was an unwarranted intrusion into the privacy of a person.

He said it was an ultimate act of showing utter disrespect to a person and therefore, those who committed this offence must expect a lengthy prison sentence to restore the balance, the harmony and the atonement to the victim. The Judge told the offender: “You drank and ate at their home. They accommodated you. They were nice and civil to you. However, you repaid their kindness by raping her three times on April 11, 2021.

“You caused untold miseries to the victim and her family as she had lost her confidence in people, and she was still being emotionally traumatised by what you did to her. “You showed no regard to her right as a human being and her right not to be harmed.”

The offender was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of six years.

Photos: Pacific Energy Pacific Energy donates $10K for Persons with Disabilities... In marking International Day of Persons with Disabilities which will be celebrated on December 3, Pacific Energy Fiji recently donated $10,000 to the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.