By Linny Folau
A 21-year-old Kolovai man has been sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, fully suspended for two years, after admitting a serious assault that left a teenager with significant facial injuries.
In the Supreme Court at Nuku’alofa on 6 May, Sione Tai So’afa pleaded guilty to one count of causing serious bodily harm arising from an incident at Samaletane Beach, Kolovai, on 19 September 2025.
The court heard that the complainant, a 19-year-old man from Halaleva, had been drinking alcohol with friends at the beach at night when So’afa and his group joined them. A confrontation later broke out between the groups in which the complainant and another person started a physical altercation with the defendant.
According to the summary of facts, So’afa left the area following the initial altercation but returned about 20 minutes later to the beach parking area, where the complainant approached him. The defendant then struck the complainant in the face with a rock, causing him to fall, before continuing to punch him while he was on the ground.
The complainant was taken to Vaiola Hospital and treated for swelling, bruising, dental loss and facial lacerations.
The court was told So’afa later admitted to others that he had struck the complainant with a rock in retaliation and concealed the weapon. He was arrested four days later and admitted the offending during police questioning.
Lord Chief Justice Malcolm Bishop KC said the offending involved “the deliberate use of a weapon and the continuation of the assault” and created “a clear risk of very serious harm.”
“Instead of withdrawing, he chose to re-engage,” the Chief Justice said.
“While there had been an earlier altercation, I do not regard this offending as meaningfully provoked. It was retaliatory and disproportionate.”
The Crown submitted that imprisonment was appropriate given the violent nature of the attack and the use of a weapon, proposing a starting point of two years’ imprisonment.
In sentencing, the court took into account So’afa’s early guilty plea, cooperation with police, lack of previous convictions, youth, remorse and prospects for rehabilitation.
The court also considered the pre-sentence report, which described So’afa as coming from a supportive family background and assessed him as having good prospects of rehabilitation.
Lord Chief Justice Bishop said the offending appeared to have arisen from “alcohol-fueled poor judgment rather than entrenched criminal conduct.”
“Weighing all relevant factors, I am satisfied that a fully suspended sentence is appropriate,” he said.
So’afa was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, fully suspended for two years. Conditions of the suspension include 12 months’ probation, completion of drug and alcohol awareness programmes, 80 hours of community service, and remaining offence-free during the suspension period.
The court warned that failure to comply with the conditions could result in the suspension being revoked and the prison sentence activated.
