An Indian origin farmer was today sentenced to life by a court in Fiji for murdering two fellow Indians.
The High Court in Labasa sentenced 31-year old Nilesh Chand to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to murdering Abhishek Kumar and Samuel Vikash Nand at Korosomo in Seaqaqa.
The bodies of Kumar and Nand were discovered in Korosomo, after their families reported them missing.
The court heard Chand had every intention of ending the life of Kumar who was in a romantic but platonic relationship with his niece, FBC News reported. Chand lured the two boys to Korosomo where they drank beer before he killed them.
A second accused, Tevita Dutaboto has pleaded not guilty to one count of murder and will re-appear in court on the ninth of next month.
"This accused has taken the lives of two very young men who had never even reached their prime, all in a fit of anger over a relationship that he perceived one of the deceased was having with his niece," Justice Paul Madigan said.
"The young men did not expect that sharing an evening beer would result in their violent deaths. The accused had in his interview with the police told them that he set out that evening with an intention to end Abhishek's life because of the relationship with the niece," Justice Madigan said, quoted by Fiji Times.
The judge ordered that Chand could only apply for pardon after serving a minimum of 25 years.
