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State v Eketi [2011] FJHC 781; HAC028.2011 (30 November 2011)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF FIJI
AT LABASA
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION

Criminal Case No: HAC 028 of 2011

STATE

v.

TERUIA EKETI

Counsel: Mr. L. Savou for State
Mr. T. Lee for Accused

Date of Hearing: 28 November 2011
Date of Judgment: 30 November 2011

SENTENCE

[1] Teruia Eketi, you were charged with murder of your new born baby at Tabwewe Village, Rabi. At the commencement of trial, you offered to plead guilty to the lesser offence of infanticide. Your guilty plea to the lesser offence of infanticide was accepted by the State.

[2] You were convicted of infanticide contrary to section 244(1) of the Crimes Decree 2009. Section 244(1) defines infanticide as follows:

A woman commits the indictable offence of infanticide if –

(a) she, by any wilful act or omission, causes the death of her child; and

(b) the child is under the age of 12 months; and

(c) at the time of the act or omission the balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of –

(i) her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child; or

(ii) the effect of lactation consequent upon the birth of the child; or

(iii) any other matter, condition, state of mind or experience associated with her pregnancy, delivery or post-natal state that is proved to the satisfaction of the court.

[3] Your life has been full of tragedies. You got married at aged 15 years, while you were a Form 4 student at Rabi High School. I see your eldest son is now 14 years old and is a Form 4 student at Rabi High School. You are currently 32 years old. You must have had your first child when you were 18 years old. After four years you had two more children with a age gap of 2 years between them.

[4] In 2000, you had your fourth child. But you lost this child after 7 months due to an asthmatic attack on him.

[5] In 2006, you had your fifth child who now is 5 years old. Except for the first child, all your other children were born at home with the assistance of village midwife. You did not have access to proper anti-natal clinics during your pregnancies.

[6] In 2010, you conceived again. In December 2010, your mother whom you relied upon for financial and emotional support, passed away.

[7] After getting married, you stayed home and involved yourself in the domestic chores. Your husband is 53 years old and is a farmer by profession. There is a vast age gap between you and your husband. Your husband supports his family by farming.

[8] There is no regular source of income for you and your children. With the passing away of your mother and with no emotional support coming from your husband, you felt a sense of hopelessness during your last pregnancy. You were in denial that you were pregnant.

[9] On the evening of 10 March 2011, you secretly gave birth to a baby boy outside a toilet near your home. The baby cried once and so you knew he was alive after birth. You snapped the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a cloth. You threw the baby into the sea.

[10] The baby was found the following day on the seashore with parts of his body savaged.

[11] Meanwhile, you continued bleeding and had to be transported to Rabi Health Centre. The doctor who examined you found you to be distressed. The placenta had to be manually removed from your body.

[12] According to the post mortem report, your baby died of excessive loss of blood from an untied umbilical cord. While the baby was prematurely born at 8 months, he was fully developed.

[13] The tariff for infanticide in Fiji is a non-custodial sentence with counseling or hospital orders (State v Vasiti Marawa Criminal Case No. HAC 092 of 2007 (19 October 2007). These sentences range from probation orders to good behaviour bond.

[14] In sentencing you, I take into account your social circumstances. Unlike women in urban centres, you did not have access to proper health care and support during pregnancy. Women in rural communities no doubt lack basic health care and support. They are vulnerable to offending associated with child birth due to their disadvantage background.

[15] There is no evidence before this Court that you are not a fit and proper person to be a mother. You have four young children depended on you. You pleaded guilty, you are remorseful and you are a first time offender. You spent a month in custody on remand before bail was granted.

[16] Taking all these into account, I release you on a good behaviour bond for 12 months on the condition that you undergo counseling, arranged by the Department of Social Welfare.

Daniel Goundar
JUDGE

At Labasa
Wednesday 30 November 2011

Solicitors:
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Labasa for State
Office of the Legal Aid Commission, Labasa for Accused