A man who fatally stabbed Tongan man Ivan Jordan Fifita during a confrontation at an Ōtāhuhu boarding house has been sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison.
Fifita, 33, died after he was stabbed once during a confrontation with Uepa Tumaialu, 32, at Beatty Lodge on 29 June 2025.
The High Court at Auckland heard CCTV footage initially showed the two men sitting together on the lodge deck, talking, smoking and eating before the situation suddenly turned violent.
Fifita threw the first punch shortly after 8.20pm, according to the summary of facts, but Tumaialu blocked it and threw him to the ground.
The confrontation then moved outside the CCTV camera’s view, where Fifita was stabbed.
Footage later showed Fifita bleeding as the confrontation continued, which lasted just over a minute.
A post-mortem examination found the single stab wound penetrated his liver and continued through muscle tissue to his heart.
Another lodge resident called emergency services after seeing Fifita clutching his stomach with blood on his hands and coming from his mouth.
Tumaialu left shortly after the 111 call and discarded the bloodied knife in a nearby driveway. He was arrested the following day after attending the Ōtāhuhu Probation Office.
Fifita’s family told the court his killing had caused profound and continuing grief, including sleepless nights, tears and emotional breakdowns.
Justice Pheroze Jagose sentenced Tumaialu to four years and 10 months’ imprisonment and imposed no minimum period, leaving his eventual release to the Parole Board.
Tumaialu was also given his first strike under the Three Strikes law.
Based on reporting by the New Zealand Herald/Open Justice.
