Pietermaritzburg businessman Rajivee Soni was sentenced on Friday to an effective 30 years imprisonment for the murder of a medical doctor‚ Bhavish Sewram.
The high court in Pietermaritzburg found that Soni had orchestrated the 2013 murder‚ believing that 33-year-old Sewram‚ a father of two‚ had an affair with his wife.
Soni was convicted in September on charges of murder‚ conspiracy to commit murder‚ defeating the ends of justice and assault.
National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that in aggravation of sentence‚ senior state advocate Johan Du Toit handed in a victim impact statement compiled by Sewram’s father‚ Parmanand.
“In the statement‚ the father mentioned how the family relied on his son for emotional as well as financial support. He went on to describe him as a kind-hearted person who contributed to the healthcare of the community‚” she said.
Soni was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for murder‚ five years for defeating the course of justice‚ 18 months for assault and five years for conspiracy to commit murder. The sentences for the defeating justice and assault charges will run concurrently with the other two sentences.
His request for leave to appeal was granted and set down for November 21 at the high court in Durban.