The son of Fiji's former prime minister Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to 28 months in jail after violently attacking an ex-girlfriend in Sydney, leaving her with a ruptured ear drum.

Warning: This story contains graphic details.

Ratu Meli Bainimarama, 38, previously admitted to a range of domestic violence-related offences including choking his ex-partner, punching her in the ear and intentionally distributing an intimate image of the pair.

Magistrate Timothy Khoo sentenced Bainimarama to 28 months in jail with a non-parole period of 14 months for three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, two counts of choking without consent and one count of stalking and intimidation.

At his sentencing hearing, the Parramatta Local Court heard Bainimarama started a relationship with the victim in February 2022.

The court heard the abuse started in the same month, when the former soldier struck his then girlfriend while she was driving him to the airport.

The attack continued after he made her pull over and start driving again, with Bainimarama punching and scratching her multiple times, leaving her ears ringing afterwards.

The court heard he grabbed the victim's hair while asking her "Are you f***ing listening to me?"

Another argument began after she collected him from the airport later that month with Bainimarama threatening to snap her phone over a fight about her Facebook relationship status.

The disagreement escalated when he pinned the victim down and bit her before choking her to the brink of losing consciousness, the court heard.

Victim suffered 'unbearable pain'

During another argument in March 2022, the court heard Bainimarama caused a hole in the gyprock of a friend's kitchen then told the victim, "When I say something to you, you shut your f***ing mouth and you f***ing listen".

The next day the pair argued again and after a struggle for the women's phone, Bainimarama put his hands around her neck and choked her for a few seconds.

The court heard the couple argued again over Facebook in May before the politician's son hit the victim's head and continued his attack on her as she crawled into a ball on the ground.

She later noticed blood and fluid oozing from her ear which was later diagnosed as a perforated ear drum.

The relationship ended soon after the attack.

In her victim impact statement to the court, his former girlfriend said the financial, physical and psychological impacts of Bainimarama's abuse outlived their short relationship.

She described being in "unbearable pain" from her ear injury and said the partial hearing loss in her left ear has jeopardised future employment opportunities.

The victim told the court she felt trapped and isolated because she felt "immense pressure to maintain the illusion of a perfect relationship" while dating the son of a Fiji's former prime minister.

The court heard Bainimarama had previously served seven months of a 10-month sentence for domestic violence-related offences committed against another woman in 2023.

While on bail for the offences he committed in 2022, Bainimarama attacked his then estranged wife in the couple's bedroom.

The prosecution argued Bainimarama posed some risk to the community given that two of his consecutive relationships involved violence against a female partner.

Bainimarama witnessed domestic violence at home, court hears

Defence barrister Razia Shafiq told the court Bainimarama had voluntarily completed anger management and domestic violence courses, including a program completed while he was incarcerated.

The court heard he had shown remorse for his actions and had written a letter of apology.

She said he had been exposed to death and violence at an early age while serving as a soldier in the Fijian military.

The court heard the son of Fiji's former military commander joined the army when he was 19 years old and served in the special forces branch before leaving in 2018.

The ex-soldier was subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

During sentencing remarks, Magistrate Khoo said Bainimarama witnessed domestic violence at home while growing up and had been subject to inappropriate touching while aged four, with his father's political career making him "a target".

Bainimarama is the father of nine children from nine different relationships, the court heard.

The magistrate acknowledged Bainimarama was "taking genuine steps towards being a better person," but noted he committed other serious domestic violence offences while on bail for these offences.

The ex-soldier will be eligible for release in January 2026.

His father, former Fijian prime minister Frank Bainimarama was previously sentenced to a year of jail for perverting the course of justice in Fiji earlier this year.

He was granted early release in November after only serving half of his sentence.