By Linny Folau
A captain of Tonga's inter-island domestic ferry, the MV ‘Otuanga’ofa, who was found guilty of proceeding to sea improperly by taking excess passengers on the vessel and serving knowing his Certificate of Competency had expired, was sentenced to two years imprisonment.
Viliami Makahokovalu Tuputupu was sentenced on 18 November, after he was convicted of the two charges in a trial at the Magistrate's Court in Fasi earlier on 21 October.
The lower court heard that the first charge was of proceeding to sea improperly when on 22 April 2023 in Nomuka, Ha’apai, as the Master of the MV ‘Otuanga’ofa, he knowingly permitted the vessel to proceed to Tongatapu improperly with 420 passengers on board, which was in excess of the 400 passengers permitted on the Vessel’s Survey Certificate.
The second charge was that he served on the vessel without a proper Certificate when on 22 April, 2023 he proceeded to sea from Tongatapu to Vava’u, but his Certificate of Competency to be a Master had already expired on 17 April 2023.
The Magistrate, in a written ruling, summarised the facts established during the trial, which included evidence given by witnesses.
He stated this included the evidence by Marine Officer, Mosese Molisi who had asked the captain the status of his Certificate, and he replied that it was being processed. While, Marine Director Kelela Tonga gave evidence that the captain had apologised to her about the excess passengers. He also did not dispute that he had gone to see her to apologise.
Moreover, Kelea Tonga stated that on 24 April, 2023 she had written to the captain and noted three main concerns, including the excess passengers. The captain in his written reply sent on the same day stated his reasons of taking the excess passengers.
Another witness, Susitina Ta’ai told the lower court that after she and Tapaita counted the number of passengers, they went to the captain and handed him the numbers recorded to sign off, but he did not sign it and asked them to take out the excess number of passengers.
The Magistrate stated that the captain has a criminal record with a similar conviction for which he was imprisoned in 2011.
Parliament was clear that in order to safeguard people’s lives, they increased the sentence for taking excess passengers under the Act. In 2022, this was increased from a fine of $30,000 or imprisonment of not more than three years or both to $50,000 or imprisonment not exceeding five years or both, he stated.
The Magistrate concluded it had been proven in the trial that the captain knew that his Certificate had expired on 17 April, 2023, he also knew that he was not supposed to sail given his expired Certificate, Parliament increasing the sentences under the Act to reflect and emphasize the importance to safeguard lives of people under these charges. In addition, he had not learned from his past similar conviction, in which he was imprisoned for in 2011, he stated.
