Matamanoa Island Resort to possibly face criminal charges

A criminal case against the owner of a Fijian resort after the death of a Kiwi honeymooner would make history in the Pacific country.

Rebecca Stockwell, of Blenheim, died after being hit by a boat propeller as she snorkelled with her husband at Matamanoa Island on November 30, 2007.

A spokeswoman for the Director of Public Prosecutions in Fiji said the office was considering criminal charges against the company's owner.

This had never been attempted so it remained to be seen whether it was possible.

"We are of the view that it can be done. There's nothing in the law to stop us," she said." Once the police have completed their investigations, we will make a determination on whether there's sufficient evidence to charge the company."

The spokeswoman confirmed since Stockwell's death there had been another boating accident in which a male tourist suffered injuries. She believed he was also a New Zealander.

The boat driver who hit Rebecca, Tomasi Natutuvuli Tovou, pleaded guilty to manslaughter this week and was sentenced to a year in jail, suspended for two years. This means he will serve no time in prison unless he commits another crime during that period.

Rebecca's father, Mark Crawley, said while Tovou had made a mistake, it was the island's owner who the family held as primarily responsible. If simple safety measures had been followed, his daughter would be alive, Mark said. These included having a guard on the boat propeller and buoys or signs to designate safe swimming areas.

The family planned to bring a civil action against the owner and manager of Matamanoa Island, but were also hopeful of criminal charges being laid.

"The prosecution have made it clear that there's a lot of pressure now within Fiji for it to start actively looking at bringing manslaughter charges, criminal charges, against companies," he said." It's taken quite a time to ramp up because they are not used to even investigating such charges, but we believe there's international pressure from more than one government for this to happen."

With permission of the Press.