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Cili v The State [1991] FJHC 9; Haa0007.1991 (30 January 1991)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI
At Suva
Appellate Jurisdiction

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 7 OF 1991

Between:

NATALIO CILI
Appellant

v.

THE STATE
Respondent

Appellant in Person
Mr. J. Prakash for the Respondent

JUDGMENT

The appellant was sentenced by the Suva Magistrate Court to 30 months imprisonment on the 11th of May 1990 after he was convicted on his guilty plea to an offence of School Breaking, Entering and Larceny. At the time he was an extra-mural prisoner serving his sentence out of prison.

He appeals against the sentence on the ground that it is harsh and excessive having regard to his youth and the relatively passive and minor role he played in the commission of the offence.

Learned State Counsel whilst seeking to support the sentence concedes the secondary role of the appellant and confirms the recovery of some of the stolen items.

The appellant was born on 16.1.70 and turned 21 years of age 2 weeks ago. It is his misfortune that he had to spend that most important birthday of his behind prison bars separated from his parents and family.

He has already served 9 months of this present sentence and is due to be released in January 1992. This is a crushing prospect for a young man such as the appellant whose father has personally appeared both in the lower court and in this court to plead for his son. This is more than a lot of other parents have done for their sons and augers well for the appellant if he is true to his promise to return to his village and change his way of life.

I accept that School Breaking is a particularly mean offence and that the appellant was a serving prisoner at the time he committed this offence however most of the items have been recovered and the appellant at the time had all but completed serving his extramural term. He almost succeeded in staying out of trouble but was unfortunate to have fallen back into bad company.

His role in the offence was a purely secondary one as a 'watchman' and some differentiation should have been made in the sentences imposed on him and his co-accused who was the principal offender and who at the time was subject to a suspended sentence.

I am willing to give the appellant the chance he seeks in the hope that having now turned 21 years of age he will change his life-style away from his past lawlessness, however he will not go 'scot-free'. To assist him and his parents in his future endeavours to stay on the "straight and narrow path" I order that the remaining portion of the appellant's sentence (i.e. 10 months) be suspended for 12 months from today's date.

The immediate effect of this order is that the appellant shall be released from prison today however he is warned that if he is convicted of an imprisonable offence in the next 12 months he may be required to serve the remaining 10 months imprisonment along with any other sentence that may be imposed for his re-offending.

(D.V. Fatiaki)
JUDGE

At Suva,
30th January, 1991.