The parents of an 11-week-old baby convicted for their parts in her murder are to appeal their conviction and sentence.
Azees Mahomed (31), who was found guilty of the murder of Tahani Mahomed and two counts of causing her grievous bodily harm on November 4, was sentenced today to a minimum non-parole period of 17 years for murder and five years for each grievous bodily harm count.
He and his wife Tabbasum (26) were also found guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life to the baby.
He was sentenced to five years in jail, with all his terms to be served concurrently.
His wife was sentenced to four years jail.
Both will be deported to South Africa on their release.
Azees Mahomed's lawyer, Chris Wilkinson-Smith, said he had lodged an appeal against the conviction and sentence.
"The sentence speaks for itself. But Mr Mahomed maintains he wasn't responsible and I have lodged an appeal on his behalf," Mr Wilkinson-Smith said.
Paul Borich, representing Tabbasum Mahomed, said he had also lodged an appeal against her conviction and sentence.
Tahani Mahomed was admitted to hospital with serious head injuries on December 28, 2007. She died four days later.
Sentencing Azees Mahomed, Justice Rhys Harrison said the length of the minimum term of imprisonment reflected the callous nature of his offending, particularly the failure to get urgent medical treatment.
He told Tabbasum Mahomed that a sentence of imprisonment was inevitable, and told her that it defied belief that a mother would not know that her child had been rendered comatose.
"It is inconceivable to me that a loving and responsible mother would leave a critically ill baby unattended for many hours," Justice Harrison said.
He told the couple their daughter lived a brief and abused life.
"What you described as Tahani's sleepiness was what one clinician described as a comatose state following a head injury.
"She suffered from widespread brain damage due to lack of oxygen and blood flow.
"Your baby was suffering from severe injuries, including bleeding in the skull, a skull fracture and detachment of the eye retina. Tests conducted showed that Tahani had no active brain movement. Her injuries were consistent with having been struck with great force.
"She was barely above her birth weight. She was malnourished, and had been the earlier victim of violence at Mr Mahomed's hands," Justice Harrison said.
"Each of you denied any knowledge of the circumstances leading to Tahani's injuries. There was no other possible suspect.
"Each of you pretended that nothing adverse had happened that night. Each of you implied that it may have been the doctors that caused the injuries."
Crown prosecutor Phil Hamlin recommended a minimum jail term of 17 years for Azees Mahomed, saying he had committed previous acts of violence against the child.
"This child was not its normal self that evening. The fatal effects of the head injury developed over several hours. The child was not feeding throughout the night. The two accused clearly knew their child was ill, but they did not want their child's injuries to be discovered by the authorities," Mr Hamlin said.
Counsel for Azees Mahomed, Melinda Mason, said the accused had low intellectual capacity, which had been confirmed by reports from neuro-psychologists. He had poor common sense, practical reasoning and social judgment, she said.
"When he was in difficulty handling the baby or coping with the baby, that intellectual incapacity would have had an affect on his actions.
"His ability to cope with problems is quite relevant and the 17 year minimum non-parole period is unjust," Ms Mason said.
She requested a minimum term of 12 years.
Defence lawyer Paul Borich, representing Tabbasum Mahomed, said it was not an easy task to determine the window of culpability.
"There wasn't evidence to suggest Mrs Mahomed was aware of the injuries.
"She is remorseful about the death of Tahani, and the fact that she did fail to get medical attention," Mr Borich said.
Mr Borich suggested a starting point of two years or less. He pointed out her mitigating factors of having no previous convictions, a low risk of re-offending, and no drug or alcohol problems.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Lynch of Manukau police said outside the court the length of the sentence reflected the "sickening" injuries inflicted in the case, and he hoped the powerful statement from Justice Harrison would send out a stern message to the public that there are severe consequences for this type of offending.
