Gov't official acquitted for road death [1]
Friday, May 5, 2017 - 18:00
Poasi Ngaluafe (49) a senior officer working with the Ministry of Fisheries was acquitted of causing death, while driving under the influence of alcohol in excess of 250 micrograms per litre of breath.
However, he was convicted of an alternate count of driving of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in excess of 250 micrograms per litre of breath of the Traffic Act, in a verdict delivered on 21 April at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court.
Hon Mr Justice Cato imposed on him a fine of $1,000 to be paid or in default face two-months imprisonment. This was his first offence of driving while over the prescribed limit.
The evidence was quite brief in which this incident resulted in the death of Uini Kava (46) of Tofoa on 8 May, at around 2:00am.
The court heard the accused had admitted to driving with a breath level limit of 660 micrograms per litre of breath, in excess twice the legal limit.
He took a drive not far from his home and ran over this person who was sitting, it would seem upright in his path on his side of the road.
The collision resulted in the deceased suffering head and other injuries, causing an instantaneous death. He was dressed in dark closes, and this area was unlit and said to be dark, although there may have been some light coming from an oncoming car, which passed the deceased on the other side of the road shortly after collision, he said.
Establishing fault
The Crown had attempted to persuade him that the accused was at fault in failing to be able to avoid the deceased sitting in the road and that he had been unable to see him and doing so because he was driving too fast and was well over the legal limit.
The judge said the evidence did not persuade him that if the accused was travelling in excess of the speed limit he would, with his headlights on, have been able to see the deceased and stop in time to avoid him.
"Nor did I have any evidence before me to suggest that a sober driver travelling at a lawful speed, in all circumstances, would have been able to detect the deceased sitting in the road and have avoided him. I am therefore unable to conclude beyond reasonable doubt that anything errant in Ngaluafe's driving caused the collision."
In these circumstances, he acquitted the accused on causing death while driving under the influence of alcohol in excess of the legal limit.
Strict liability
The Crown also submitted that this offence was one of strict liability, and all they had to establish to succeed was that he drove a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, namely above the limit of 250 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, and that while driving, a fatality occurred.
The defence submitted the offence was not one of strict liability pointing to the serious consequences of that conviction, which carried a liability of up to 15-years imprisonment and a heavy fine.
"During the trial, I had indicated that I was uneasy about the submission that this was an offence of strict liability and that the accused should be convicted even if the prosecution had not established that he was at fault."
The judge recognized that legislation of this kind is aimed at reducing road accidents which all too often result in injury or death, when a driver is under the influence of alcohol. The fact that conviction carries with it such heavy penalties, had tended to persuade me that the offence should be characterized in the words of Lord Reid as a quasi criminal offence in the strict liability category, he said.