POOL PHOTO
GUILTY: Kefu Ikamanu in the dock at the High Court in Auckland.
The actions of a man who killed his two-year-old daughter by flinging her against a wall and stomping on her have been described by a judge as "a one-off incident caused by frustration".
Kefu Ikamanu, 29, was found guilty in the High Court at Auckland in August on charges of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm against his daughter Seini.
The jury found Ikamanu not guilty of murder.
Yesterday he was jailed for six years nine months, almost half of what crown prosecutor Phil Hamlin argued for.
During the trial Crown prosecutor Phil Hamlin told the jury: "Mr Ikamanu was not able to form a close bond with Seini and became resentful, frustrated and angry with what he thought was the spoilt behaviour of his daughter.
"He thought she never smiled at him and this made him angry."
On March 24, 2010, Seini and her younger brother were boisterously playing in the lounge while Ikamanu was sitting in front of the TV.
She refused to stop when asked and Ikamanu grabbed her, causing a shoulder injury and then threw her into a wall, which caused severe head injuries that required emergency neurosurgery to relieve brain swelling.
Ikamanu then stomped on her, crushing her pelvis and rendering her motionless and unconscious.
She started to fit and the court heard how the offender then attempted to revive her, first by giving her water, then putting her in a shower before finally trying to administer CPR.
Seini remained alive for eight months in palliative care before she died from pneumonia.
At a family prayer meeting at the hospital days later, Ikamanu admitted causing the head injuries and was compliant with police. He has always denied the stomping.
Despite his actions Ikamanu's wife Sela and other family members were in court yesterday to support him.
While giving evidence she described him as "a good husband, a good father and a good person".
"You simply don't know your own strength," Justice Geoffrey Venning said.
Doctors found Seini's numerous pelvic fractures would ordinarily be found in crush type injures, if a child had been run over by a car.
"These are unusual injuries requiring force, directed from the front of the child to the back," he said. "The sort of injuries doctors do see when a child is stomped on."
Justice Venning accepted defence counsel Simon Lance's submission that the offending was a one-off and Ikamanu had no history of violence.
The Crown urged the judge to impose a minimum period of imprisonment but Justice Venning said there was no need.
Ikamanu cried throughout proceedings and a probation report highlighted his remorse and said there was a low risk of reoffending.
Just seven months earlier, Seini had been reunited with her family after living with her grandparents in Tonga for most of her life.
She was living with her mother, father and younger brother, and was described as a shy girl.
Lance said Ikamanu would be deported to Tonga once his sentence had been served.
- ? Fairfax NZ News
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/7840126/Childs-death-a-result-of-frustration
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