34-year-old Binesh Prasad who deliberately set fire to a house in Navosai, Nasinu in 2015, killing five people, has been handed a mandatory life sentence by High Court Judge Justice Salesi Temo.
Prasad has to serve a minimum of 28 years before a pardon may be considered by the President of Fiji.
Prasad pleaded guilty to five counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, one count of arson and one count of damaging property.
Prasad’s 54-year-old father-in-law, his 28-year-old wife, his 10-year-old daughter and a couple aged 30 and 22 years who were renting at the house, died in the fire on October 15th, 2015.
While sentencing Prasad, Justice Temo said that what Prasad did to his wife, daughter, father-in-law and the couple, was the height of all evil.
Justice Temo told Prasad that he had no right to take those people’s lives.
He said that the sentence given to Prasad is to signify that the court and the community denounces his actions.
