Apenisa Waqairadovu 
Tevita Kapawale
Tevita Kapawale was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Suva High Court this morning.
He murdered five fishing crew members on the high seas in 2021.
Justice Dane Tuiqereqere told him that he cruelly took the lives of five people, and their families have suffered terribly because of what he did.
Tevita Kapawale
He told Kapawale that the number of people he killed would have been seven had another two crew members not jumped overboard.
He stated to Kapawale that he brought terror and violence on the boat.
Justice Tuiqereqere confronted Kapawale, stating that the families of the deceased persons feel that Kapawale treated their family members like animals in the manner he threw them overboard after killing them.
He also told him that some of these families have said they will not be able to access financial assistance because they cannot obtain death certificates for their loved ones.
Kapawale was also convicted by the court on two separate charges of assault in 2020 and 2021.
He will have to serve a minimum period of 26 years and two months before he can apply for parole.
Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
