A Fijian man who murdered his girlfriend and her young daughter has lost a bid to remain in New Zealand after he is released from prison.
Stuff.co.nz reports Kamal Reddy killed his girlfriend Pakeeza Yusuf and her 3-year-old daughter in 2006 or 2007.
The pair, from Auckland's Bucklands Beach, were reported missing in 2013.
Reddy was arrested in 2014 after he admitted strangling Yusuf and smothering Jojo so she could not identify him.
Stuff.co.nz reports Reddy led undercover police officers to the Takapuna Landing Bridge on the North Shore, where he'd buried their bodies in deep, muddy graves.
Reddy was found guilty of the murders in 2016 and was sentenced to life in prison.
He will be eligible for parole in 2036.
Reddy who is now 46-year-old is a Fijian citizen became a New Zealand resident in 2007.
The Fijian man has been liable for deportation since 2015 before he was convicted of the murders because of three drink-driving convictions and three convictions for driving while disqualified between 2007 and 2013.
Stuff.co.nz reports residents in New Zealand can become liable for deportation if they commit an offence within five years of obtaining a residence class visa.
Reddy appealed against his liability for deportation to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal.
The appeal was held earlier this year.
He told the tribunal he had falsely confessed to the murders and planned to appeal those convictions to the Supreme Court.
Reddy also said he had been studying inside prison and was worried he would not be eligible for further study if his deportation appeal was dismissed.
According to stuff.co.nz, Reddy said he had no family support in Fiji and it would be difficult to find employment if deported there, whereas he had support from his son in New Zealand.
Counsel for Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway argued it was in the public interest for Reddy to be deported due to the "abhorrence" of his murders.
Stuff.co.nz reports that in a recently-released decision, the tribunal dismissed Reddy's appeal, noting his murders were among the "worst of their type".
The decision said he would struggle to find employment in Fiji but would face similar challenges in New Zealand due to his convictions.
The decision also said Reddy's son, a Fijian citizen, could either return to Fiji with him or visit him periodically.
Reddy will be eligible for deportation upon parole or the end of his sentence.
[Source: stuff.co.nz]
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