Man acquitted of manslaughter charge by Lautoka Court

A man charged with one count of manslaughter has been acquitted by the Lautoka High Court.

Judge Justice Aruna Aluthge concurred with the unanimous opinion of the assessors who found the man not guilty of the charge.

It was alleged that Mohammed Farun Yakub unlawfully killed Suresh Chandra when he switched on the bus causing it to move forward and hit Chandra.

The incident happened on the 8th of December, 2009.

The court was informed that Yakub did not at any time attend to starting the bus or sit in the driver’s seat before Chandra was injured.

It was confirmed that the bus was old and parked in the yard for more than a year for the repairs to be completed.

Justice Aluthge says he is satisfied that the defence was able to create a reasonable doubt about whether Yakub was responsible for starting the bus or causing it to move forward.

The judge says that the examiner’s evidence that the bus had an expired third party insurance cover confirmed that it had not been driven for some time.

Yakub had told Police that the bus had started itself and that he intervened to save the lives of the people who were working in front of the bus.

Justice Aluthge says the prosecution failed to discredit his evidence.