Results for From the Courts

Vaha Palei (32) who was found guilty of possessing 20.4 grams of methamphetamine at Te’ekiu in May last year, was remanded for sentencing next month.

A 25-year-old man was acquitted of attempted rape of a young woman at a home in Nuku’alofa in May last year.

Paki mo Talaha Tausinga was found guilty on two counts that included not helping an injured woman pedestrian following an accident in the Nuku'alofa CBD last year. Although the accused was found to be the driver responsible for this collision, he was acquitted of reckless driving, injuring a female pedestrian, because there was uncertainty about the quality of the

 evidence to prove this serious charge.

Uilisoni Falahola was acquitted of manslaughter in the electrocution death of a man in Kolomotu'a in a verdict delivered by the Lord Chief Justice in his on June 19 at the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa.

A 56-year-old man was sentenced to 16-months imprisonment for indecently assaulting a child under the age of 12 last year in the Nuku'alofa area.

Tonga’s former Prime Minister Lord Tu’ivakano pleaded not guilty today to a total of 15 charges, with 12 of those charges including perjury and accepting bribes, relating to the issuance of Tongan passports, and three charges for possession of firearms and ammunition without a license.

Sepuloni Mateo (24) received a two year suspended jail sentence after pleading guilty to seven counts of forgery and knowingly dealing with forged documents, in which he got more $8,000 pa'anga by false representing his employer to a customer in 2017.

Former Cabinet Minister ‘Akosita Lavulavu and her husband, ‘Etuate Lavulavu, who are charged with fraud relating to a number of irregularities in an audit of the ‘Unuaki ‘o Tonga Royal Institute in 2016 were permitted to apply for judicial review of the audit.

A 39-year-old former senior loans officer who embezzled from employer, Five Star Finance in 2015 was sentenced to three-years three-months imprisonment on May 31, at the Supreme Court.