In sentencing the court already have the benefit of hearing the evidence and submissions and the court is in a much better position to assess what will be an appropriate penalty to impose on the defendant. The offence carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment. The court has discretion to impose a level of penalty however, the court can also impose alternative penalty. Again this will depend very much on the seriousness of the offence.
Punishment serves a purpose either for deterrence or restitution or rehabilitation.
This means the court has wide discretion to impose any penalty prescribe under the law giving jurisdiction to the court to impose. In this case the court found that the defendant was not reckless or not driving in not observing the law but purely negligence in his driving. What happen here was that the decease walked on to the road already and it was dark at that time and it was also raining a little and as such the risk was very high for any driver to ensure that he drives with the greatest care and like wise the decease was also to take care in crossing the road to avoid being hit by a vehicle. There were no other aggravating factors in the manner of driving of the defendant such as consuming liquor or drug or being careless to another road users a part from the risk as stated already above. The duty is also place on any other pedestrian to ensure that the road is quite clear and safe before crossing the road.