Prosecutors will ask the ACT's top court to impose a tougher sentence on the "coward" who murdered a bikie boss at a packed Civic nightclub, arguing the penalty dished out to the killer late last year was inadequate.
Frederick Elijah Mercy Tuifua, 27, was sentenced in the ACT Supreme Court in November to 20 years behind bars, with a non-parole period of 10 years.
The jail term comprised time for the murder of Comanchero commander Pitasoni Ulavalu and the non-fatal stabbing of another bikie, Zachary Robb, at Kokomo's in July 2020.
It also included punishment for Tuifua's role in a brutal five-on-one prison bashing at the Alexander Maconochie Centre, where he has been in custody since his arrest.
The ACT Court of Appeal heard on Wednesday that deputy director of public prosecutions Anthony Williamson notified staff on the day of the sentencing that he planned to appeal.
"An oversight" on the part of a junior colleague meant the Crown's notice of appeal was not filed by the December 17 deadline, however, resulting in Mr Williamson having to seek the Court of Appeal's leave to have the challenge heard out of time.
He made this application on Wednesday, telling Justice David Mossop the sentence Justice Michael Elkaim had imposed on Tuifua was "manifestly inadequate".
Mr Williamson said the appeal would be focused on Tuifua's 10-year non-parole period, labelling this "simply insufficient" when the offender had carried out a murder and prison bashing both described as "cowardly".
Tuifua's solicitor, Jessica Fahmy, did not oppose the application and Justice Mossop granted it.
Justice Mossop, who said the Crown had an arguable appeal, directed prosecutors to file their notice of appeal and case summary by the end of this week.
Tuifua, a former Canberra Grammar student who was living in Sydney prior to his arrest, did not appear in court on Wednesday.
During his sentencing in November, he acknowledged that he had "thrown [his] life away" by knifing an unsuspecting Mr Ulavalu, 48, in the neck from behind at Kokomo's.
Mr Ulavalu had been trying to play peacemaker, attempting to break up a brawl between some of his fellow bikies and a group of Tuifua's friends, when he was mortally wounded.
The murderer indicated that he still did not know why he had carried out the killing, muttering "I'm a coward" when Mr Williamson challenged him in search of a reason.
Should his existing sentence stand, Tuifua will become eligible for parole in August 2031.
He will have spent 11 years behind bars by that point because the first year of his sentence was excluded from his non-parole period to overcome a legal hurdle that would otherwise have deprived him of any right to early release.
