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R v Tango [2025] SBHC 142; HCSI-CRC 501 of 2025 (13 November 2025)

HIGH COURT OF SOLOMON ISLANDS

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOLOMON ISLANDS
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

Criminal Case No. 501 of 2025

REX

V

ARNOLD TANGO

Date of Hearing: 12 November 2025
Date of Judgment: 13 November 2025

For the Crown: Clevin M
For the Accused: Rusi E

SENTENCE

SENTENCE

Kouhota PJ:

The accused Tango Arnold was charge with the offence of Act intended to cause grievous Harm contrary to section 224 of the Penal Code (Cap 26). He pleaded guilty to the charge and was convicted as charged. However, after considering facts of the case and circumstances surrounding the offence, I feel that the accused was charge with an offence that is far more serious than the offence that he has committed. In any event since the charge is not wholly a wrong charge and the accused had pleaded guilty to the charge, I will leave plea as it is.

The facts are, that the accused and the victim have been married for 14 years and have 5 children together, age ranging from 3 to 14 years old. They live together at Nusa Simbo, Simbo Island, Western province since March 2025.

On 4^th April 2025, while the accused was in Gizo, the accused received a phone call from the victim aunty and she reported to him that his wife is having an affair with the accused’s cousin brother. The accused after hearing the news returned to Nusa Simbo the same day and went and attacked the victim when she was sleeping.

He used a screw driver to stabbed the back of the head of the victim. The stabbing caused a laceration on the head of the victim. The Accused then took a pliers and struck the victim with it across the left side of her forehead above the eye. This caused a laceration measuring 4 cm long, 3.5 cm wide and 1.5.cm deep. The wound at the back of the head caused by the screw driver was 6.2 cm long, 3.5 cm wide and 2 cm deep. The wounds have to be stitched. I had viewed the medical report of the doctor who examine and treated the victim and it seemed the wounds were not very serious and that the victim suffered no permanent injury or disfigurement.

I had considered the following as aggravating factors, attacked the victim with dangerous weapons when she was sleeping without inquiring about what her aunty reported to you and that you were under the influence of alcohol when you committed the offence.

I take the following as mitigation factors on your behalf, you pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity which shows remorse and that you are ready to stand up and face the consequence of your action. That you are a first offender, you have no previous conviction.

After reading the facts of the case I noted that you were upset or angry when you heard that your wife is cheating on you and having an affair with your cousin brother. I consider what your wife was doing makes you angry as any reasonable husband would. The news caused you to reacted as you did. I considered you acted in the heat of the moment. Many husbands would react or have reacted in the same way as you did, although they knew what they are doing is wrong and against the law but they react and are prepared to face the consequence of their action. I am not saying that is the correct way to behave but that is how many husbands may react when they hear their wife is cheating on them, they are only humans, they are not angels.

I had considered the submissions of counsels on the sentencing principles, the aggravating and the mitigation factors and the cases authorities cited by counsels. After considering this I consider the appropriate sentence to impose on you is 6 years imprisonment as the starting point. After taking into account the aggravating factors I will increase the sentence by 2 years imprisonment, making a total of 8 years imprisonment. However, after considering the mitigation factors and that injuries suffered by victim are not very serious, that the victim suffers no permanent injury or disfigurement and that you had acted in what I considered the heat of moment and all the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence, I will reduce the sentence by 3 years. I therefore sentence you to 5 years imprisonment and order that time spent in custody to be counted as part of the sentence.

IRA

THE COURT
Justice Emmanuel Kouhota
Puisne Judge