The son of a former Fijian prime minister will be released after spending seven months in jail for violently attacking his estranged wife as the couple argued in their bedroom.
Ratu Meli Bainimarama assaulted her causing substantial bruising and damaged her car keys during an incident at Guildford, in western Sydney, on December 3, 2023.
The scaffolder, who had previously served in the Fijian army, was on bail at the time as he defended separate domestic violence allegations.
Magistrate Timothy Khoo on Tuesday convicted the 38-year-old after he admitted kicking the victim off the bed, shoving her, grabbing her by the hair and squeezing her neck for four seconds during the assault.
"A message must be sent to the offender and the wider community that domestic violence offences such as these are abhorrent," he said.
The magistrate was shown photographic evidence of the woman's injuries, including bruising and red marks on her neck, back, chest, arms and legs, as well as cuts on her lips.
The woman had drunk a bottle of wine and gone to Bainimarama's bedroom to accuse him of infidelity after seeing something on his phone.
While the pair were married at the time, the relationship had deteriorated and they were sleeping in separate bedrooms, a statement of agreed facts said.
During the altercation, Bainimarama locked the door to the bedroom in an attempt to keep his wife out.
Her car key became twisted as she used it to force the bedroom door open and he attempted to hold it shut.
Bainimarama pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and destroying or damaging property, while prosecutors withdrew a third charge of choking without consent.
Mr Khoo rejected Bainimarama's claims to police that he had been provoked and acted in self-defence.
"The offender is significantly much stronger than her and has 12 years of military training," the magistrate said.
Bainimarama watched the hearing at Parramatta Local Court from behind a glass barrier in the dock while wearing a grey, Volcom-branded hoodie.
The woman and her supporters sat in the public gallery.
Mr Khoo noted that Bainimarama had shown no remorse for his conduct, although he had completed a domestic-violence course in prison.
He also questioned defence barrister Razia Shafiq's submission that her client experienced mental health issues such as PTSD.
He said he had not seen any medical evidence to support such a diagnosis.
The magistrate imposed a total sentence of 10 months in prison with a non-parole period of seven months.
Because Bainimarama has been on remand since December, he is due to be released from Silverwater prison shortly.
An apprehended violence order prohibiting him from contacting, assaulting, threatening or living in the same residence as the victim has been imposed for two years.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ms Shafiq argued that Bainimarama had been the one to call police and had locked himself in the bedroom.
He had taken out an AVO against the woman over an incident in April 2023, the court heard.
She had tried to bite her husband's neck and grab his hair, the barrister said.
Ms Shafiq accepted Bainimarama had lashed out and caused injuries to the woman when he could have just left the house.
NSW Police prosecutor Dean Sigmund rejected suggestions the victim had attacked first, saying Bainimarama was the instigator after shoving her off the bed.
While he had suffered some injuries in the altercation, this was in stark contrast to his wife who was "littered with bruises", the prosecutor said.
Bainimarama's father, former military chief and Fijian prime minister Frank Bainimarama, came to power in a 2006 coup and later won democratic elections in 2014 and 2018.
In May, he was sentenced by a Fijian court to one year in jail for perverting the course of justice.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
