A 24-year-old Australian has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for fatally punching a Canadian man during a 2009 pub brawl in Melbourne, Australia, according to media reports.
A Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday found Jacob Polutele guilty of manslaughter in the death of Cain Aguiar, 25, who was born in Kelowna, B.C, and had dual Australian-Canadian citizenship, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Two of Polutele’s friends Fostar Akoteu, 23, and Sioli Seau, 20, have already been jailed, the network reported.
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The three men attacked Aguiar after one man got jealous of a female friend spending time with the young Canadian, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The court heard Polutele struck Aguiar from the side, knocking him unconscious before his head hit the curb with what witnesses called a “sickening thud.”
He was taken to hospital with “massive head injuries,” and, after his parents flew from B.C. to be with him, they had to turn off his life support.
Outside court, Aguiar’s mother, Issy Aguiar, told media the sentence did not go far enough.
She told the ABC the repercussions of losing her son in a senseless act of violence have been rippling through her family for two years.
“Now the legal processes have come to an end, the impact of his loss is greater than ever,” she reportedly said.
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