THE immediate and extended family members of the late Sir Fredrick Soaki were shocked and disappointed with the High Court verdict on the death of their late father and relative.
A statement issued by the family on Sunday 12th November said the family has been waiting for 14 long years for justice on the assassination of their late father who was gunned down at Auki motel in Malaita province on 10 February 2003.
Former Police Officer, Edmond Sae stood trial in the High Court of Solomon Islands for the killing of the late Sir Frederick but was acquitted of the murder charge on Wednesday last week.
The High Court however, convicted Sae of manslaughter for another death two months later in 2003, sentencing him to twenty years in prison.
“We were shocked, and utterly dissatisfied with the outcome of the High Court verdict,” the Family said in the statement.
The wife of the late Sir Frederick, Mrs Ethel Maesiufia Soaki broke down with tears after the court ruling outside of High Court last week.
As the family is struggling to come to terms with the verdict, they are considering seeking legal counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution to appeal the High Court decision, appropriately, through the judicial process.
“Through God’s conviction, justice will be served on the person responsible for the death of our dear father in due course,” Mrs Soaki said.
The late Sir Frederick was the former Police Commissioner of Solomon Islands.
He was in Auki on a UNDP Demobilisation Program for Special Constables as a member of the National Peace Council when he was shot at point blank.
The question now for the Solomon Islands Police, the Soaki family and the country as a whole is: who killed Sir Frederick?
