[Photo: File]

A 19-year-old man has had his two-year-five-month prison sentence suspended for eight years.

He had already spent 19 months in remand custody for aggravated burglary and theft.

Sami Kari was sentenced in the Lautoka High Court after pleading guilty to breaking into a businessman’s home and stealing a vehicle, $3,500 in cash and other property.

Kari and Maika Burenivalu were charged over the February 4, 2025 burglary at the home of businessman Zhong Weiqiang.

The court heard Kari admitted breaking into the house with a pinch bar and spending about 30 minutes inside.

He also admitted taking the car keys and driving away in Weiqiang’s grey Hyundai SUV.

The stolen vehicle was later recovered in Vusuya, Nausori.

Kari was initially sentenced to four years for aggravated burglary and one year and six months for theft.

The two sentences were ordered to run concurrently, making four years the total sentence.

However, the court credited Kari with the 19 months he had already spent in custody.

This reduced his final term to two years and five months.

High Court judge Justice Riyaz Hamza also took into account Kari’s cooperation with police, remorse, rehabilitation efforts and the recovery of some stolen property.

The court noted that Kari was 18 years and two months old when the offences were committed.

However, the judge found that he could not be treated as a first offender because of previous juvenile offending, including theft and aggravated robbery.

The court found the offending involved pre-planning and a breach of trust, as Kari had previously been to the complainant’s home to cut grass.

Hamza said Kari’s chances of rehabilitation were high.

The final sentence was therefore suspended for eight years.

Kari has 30 days to appeal the sentence to the Court of Appeal.