Kathmandu, Nov 11-The Supreme Court in the Australian state of Victoria today sentenced Omar Khoder, 21, of Brunswick to 19 years in jail for murdering Rowville taxi driver Benu Prasad Adhikari, 45, and an additional two-year term, one to be served concurrently with the 19 years, for threatening to kill a witness in the case.
Earlier, Khoder had pleaded guilty in Victoria's apex court to murder and threatening a witness, agencies reported.
Justice Bernard Teague, announcing the sentence, said the fatal stabbing of Adhikari on March 11, 2004, was "a random attack on a completely innocent and defenseless man".
On March 11, 2004, Khoder had hailed the taxi at the inner Melbourne suburb of Coburg and was driven to a block of flats in nearby Brunswick, for a fare of around $9, the court was told.Khoder reportedly fled after stabbing Adhikari but later confessed the murder to a friend after which he was arrested.
Adhikari had been working as an accountant in Biratnager before leaving for Melbourne in 1994 to join a computer course. To support his studies and his family, he had been working as a part-time taxi driver with the Silver Top Taxis. Adhikari is survived by his wife Munu and his two sons, Bikram and Ujwal, Adhikari’s mother, Krishna Kumari, said
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