UNREPENTANT murderer Raymond Singh today said serving a minimum of 18 years for hacking his wife to death 'is nothing'.

Colin Adwent

UNREPENTANT murderer Raymond Singh today said serving a minimum of 18 years for hacking his wife to death 'is nothing'.

As he was led smiling from court to begin a life sentence for killing his wife Wendy, Singh - formerly of Grove Lane, Ipswich - remained defiant.

Although he claimed he was protecting himself and his two children from his knife-wielding wife, the trial judge in Fiji rejected his testimony. However, the 30-year-old maintained his defence while on the way to jail.

He said: “I think when you become a father you put your children first. Eighteen years of my personal liberty for the happiness and safety of my children is nothing.”

Singh now plans to appeal against his conviction. He said: “This is not the end.”

Earlier today Justice Daniel Goundar told Singh he would serve at least 18 years for killing his wife, a mother-of-four, at their home on the Pacific Ocean island on May 11 last year.

The couple moved to Fiji from Ipswich in 2006. While in Suffolk, Singh was convicted actual bodily harm on his wife.

During today's sentencing Justice Goundar told Singh: “This court has heard evidence of your marriage which was full of petty squabbles.

“There is no evidence that the deceased had ever attacked you or her children. The extent and seriousness of the injuries on the deceased's body makes me conclude that the attack on her was ferocious. The deceased received 79 bruises and wounds all over her body.”

The Fijian High Court had previously heard the Singhs had got into a heated argument over 39-year-old Wendy Singh's intention to give money to her 15-year-old son George, who she had by a previous relationship.

Mrs Singh also has an 18-year-old daughter Claire from the same relationship. The Singhs had two children of their own Kaileb, now four, and Jahaan, who was only a few months old when his mother was murdered.

Raymond Singh, formerly a sub editor with the East Anglian Daily Times, was employed by the Australian government's overseas programme AusAid at the time of the killing. His wife was involved in the development of a resort.

Mrs Singh's sister Christine Stringer, who lives in the Isle of Wight, said in an impact statement: "Wendy's death made me realise what a devastating effect murder has - not just on the victim but on the whole family and friends. It's a horrific life-changing experience - one we will never be able to forget.'

Mrs Stringer paid tribute to the Lucie Blackman Trust's Missing Abroad programme which helped fly George back to the UK.