Apenisa Waqairadovu 
[Photo: File]
A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Tavua taxi driver Nitesh Kumar Chand.
Marika Qovuniceva was convicted last month of murder and aggravated robbery following a trial in the High Court in Ba.
The court heard Qovuniceva and a 16-year-old juvenile had planned to rob Chand after hiring him to drive them from Tavua.
Near a bridge at Matalevu, Chand was attacked, strangled with his own seatbelt and repeatedly punched in the head and face.
The court found the violence was extreme, with the 33-year-old suffering a fractured hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage, a shattered jaw and bleeding over both sides of his brain.
His body was dumped in shallow water under the bridge and was discovered two days later.
Qovuniceva then drove Chand’s stolen taxi towards Suva, abandoned it, and sold the taxi meter for 450 dollars.
The judge found Qovuniceva was an active adult participant in the robbery and rejected his claim that the juvenile alone carried out the killing.
The court also found he took steps to avoid detection, including travelling to Rakiraki and remaining there for more than two weeks without reporting the crime.
In sentencing, the judge described the murder as highly serious and stressed the vulnerability of taxi drivers who provide an important public service.
Qovuniceva was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 20 years before he can be considered for a pardon.
After deducting 15 months already spent in pre-trial custody, he must serve another 18 years and nine months before pardon can be considered.
He was also sentenced to 11 years for aggravated robbery, to run concurrently with the life sentence.
The court has granted 30 days to appeal.
