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Police v Ianuari [2025] WSSC 54 (4 July 2025)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Ianuari [2025] WSSC 54 (4 July 2025)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

P O L I C E

Informant

A N D:

LYNDON BJ IANUARI, male of Asau.

Accused

Counsel: E Keil for Prosecution

L Sio for the Accused

Sentence Decision: 04 July 2025

ORAL SENTENCE

The Charges:

1. Lyndon, you appear for sentence on a single charge of assault causing grievous bodily harm contrary to section 118(1) of the Crimes Act 2013. The maximum penalty for this offence is up to 10 years imprisonment.

The Offending:

2. According to the Prosecution Summary of Facts dated 16^th May 2025 accepted by you through your counsel, on the early morning of the 4^th August 2024 at approximately 2am and 3am, a domestic violence incident occurred at the residence of the victim and her parents. Prior to this incident, the victim who is your wife had gone to the 75-night club on the evening 3 August 2024. There, she had a few drinks. At that time, you were home at Leonē. When the victim returned to her home after the night club, you went to her home and confronted her about her whereabouts. You alleged that the victim had lied to you about her claim that she was at work when she was in fact at a night club. An argument broke out between you and your wife. During that altercation, you retrieved a heavy-duty retractable knife just commonly referred to as a cutter and proceed to strike the victim twice with it. The blade made contact with the victim’s right shoulder and back causing her physical injuries.
3. Following the incident, her family immediately took her to the hospital for medical treatment. As a result of your assault, the complainant suffers serious injuries to her back and her shoulder and these are noted in the Summary of Facts as to her back and shoulder. There is no medical report on the file. It’s however obvious from the photographs which are unchallenged that the injuries sustain by your wife were very serious.

The Accused:

4. You are a 31 year old male from Leonē and Vailele. According to your Pre-Sentence Report, you were born and raised in American Samoa under the care of your maternal uncle. You are the 11^th of 12 children. You attended the American Samoa Community College where you graduated in 2014. You found employment as a supervisor and maintenance officer at the Development Bank of American Samoa in 2019 before moving to Samoa in 2023. When you came to Samoa, you found work as a carpenter for a business called Build for Purpose Construction at Levili. You had been living with your parents at Leonē. Your mother Leata Daisy Ianuari describes you as a caring member of the family. You have no prior convictions.

The Victim:

5. The victim in this case is your wife. You are separated, she’s 32 years of age. It appears that she’s employed at the Sheraton. She was hospitalized because of your assault. She says in her Victim Impact Report that your assault affected her both mentally and physically. In respect of her physical injuries, she refers to scarring from your attack. She also described that when she goes to a doctor, she goes with her mother in case another incident occurs.

Aggravating features of the offending:

6. The aggravating features of the offending are as follows:
   • (a) the victim is your wife. The offending being within the domestic relationship;
   • (b) the use of weapon and infliction of actual violence;
   • (c) the injuries suffered by the victim including she described scarring; and
   • (d) her vulnerability being unarmed.
7. In terms of the mitigating features of the offending, there are none.
8. Your counsel submitted there was an element of provocation. This is not a case involving any element of provocation. Husbands do not control on their wives. Simply because a woman goes out and a husband is foolishly suspicious and doesn’t like wife’s explanation as was the case here, then leading to an argument, is a no way provocation.
9. There are no aggravating features personal to you as an offender. You are a first offender.
10. In terms of the mitigating factors personal to you as an offender, I accept the following mitigating factors:
    • your remorse reflected in the references attached in the Pre-Sentence Report;
    • your prior good character;
    • your apology and reconciliation with the victim carried out through your family members that you now seems to be on talking terms of with the victim; and
    • your belated guilty plea to the charge of grievous bodily harm.

Discussion:

11. Lyndon, domestic violence has long been a stain in the Samoan community particularly prevalent between husband and wives but also between family members generally. To settle disputes, perpetrators too often turn to violence rather than words to settle disputes. In your case, you suspected your wife’s infidelity, confronted her and then escalated the dispute by then attacking her with a box cutter. As a result of the prevalence and seriousness of family violence in the community, the Family Safety Act 2013 was passed by Parliament to place special emphasis and guidance for offending within a domestic relationship. In Taueki v Q [2005] NZCA174, the New Zealand Court of Appeal established sentencing bands to grievous bodily harm offending. These bands had been applied in Samoa for example by the Court of Appeal in Tele’a v National Prosecution Office [2017] WSCA4 and in may Supreme Court decisions, however, adjusted down as the maximum penalty for grievous bodily harm in Samoa is 10 years compared to 14 years in New Zealand.
12. In your case, prosecution submits that a 2 to 3 year imprisonment start point is appropriate. Your counsel correctly accepts that the offending falls within band 2 of the Taueki bands but given your circumstances, the court should focus on rehabilitative sentence of supervision. This is not a case in which rehabilitative non-custodial sentence is at all appropriate. You took a dangerous weapon, a box cutter, and attacked your unarmed and vulnerable wife which has caused her very serious injuries. Such a cowardly act too often perpetrated by men in our community calls for deterrent sentencing, so as denounce not only your conduct but in particular to deter you and others like you from committing this type of offending.
13. Applying Taueki and having regards for example to the facts in Tele’a your offending falls within band 2. You used the weapon to inflict serious harm on your wife who was vulnerable. Although the appropriate start point potentially warrants a 4 year start point but I’ve decided to accept the recommendation by prosecution, also the suggested by your counsel in her oral submissions of 3 years imprisonment. From this start point, I deduct 6 months for your genuinely remorse, the apology and reconciliation that has taken place, and 6 months for your prior good character. From the balance I deduct 5 months for your guilty plea leaving and end sentence of 1 year and 7 months imprisonment.

Result:

14. Accordingly, you are convicted and sentenced to 1 year and 7 months imprisonment less your remand in custody on the charge of grievous bodily harm.
    

JUSTICE CLARKE