By Linny Folau
A Tongan man and two Chinese nationals were fined $10,000 pa’anga each, after they pleaded guilty to two counts that included unlawful possession of 14,754 beche-de-mer (sea cucumber) in Talau, Vava'u, while a moratorium on its fishing was in place.
Ivan Moreno (35), Yang Peng Chao (35) and Wang Ning (37) were fined $10,000 pa’anga each on the two counts that included possession of a total of 13,574 beche-de-mer, during a moratorium, which temporarily bans its harvesting to allow its overfishing to recover.
Justice Tupou sentenced them on 21 November at the Supreme Court, Neiafu Registry, after the trio pleaded guilty earlier this month.
The offending was on 13 February this year when around 11:00am, Holeva Tu’iono a fisheries officer from the fisheries department in Vava’u received information that sea cucumbers were present at a residence at Talau.
The judge stated that at the time, the moratorium was in place on the harvesting and processing of sea cucumbers, and a team from the fisheries department left for Talau and the residence, which belonged to the first defendant, Moreno.
The fisheries team could hear burning stoves, repetitive pouring of water and could smell boiled sea cucumbers, before they entered the residence. When they called out at the residence, the other two defendants came out. The third defendant, Ning led them to the house where a bucket containing sea cucumber intestines was seen at the parking area of the residence.
When they were led into the house, bins loaded with sea cucumber could be seen on the ground floor. Shortly after, Moreno arrived at the residence and locked the ground floor. Moreno was asked whether he was aware the harvesting of sea cucumbers was illegal. He said they could charge him and requested the Chinese men be left alone. When the officers requested to check the house, he refused.
Moreno was then informed that the officers had power to search the house and he opened the ground floor. Moreno was present as the officers searched the house and found the sea cucumbers on the ground floor and in one of the rooms on the first floor of the residence. He admitted the sea cucumbers and beche-de-mer belonged to him.
The Police was called and Police Inspector Hala’ufia responded. Moreno told the Inspector that he was resident at the house and admitted the sea cucumbers were his. He was then arrested for unlawful possession of sea cucumbers.
The other two were arrested and charged on the 15 February. All exercised their right to remain silent and did not cooperate with the Police and did not admit to the offences, stated the judge.
The court heard that Moreno is a Tongan citizen who lives in Talau. He has been employed since 2020 at Sam’s Restaurant in Neiafu earning $500- $1000 pa'anga per week. His employer said the defendant owed him money.
Moreno admitted the offending and the summary of facts and told the probation officer the intention was to export the sea cucumbers to China.
He previously had been convicted of minor offences in the Magistrates Court in Vava’u and the Probation Officer placed him on the high risk end of re-offending.
Ning, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, was living in the house where the sea cucumbers were seized. He told the probation officer that the house was provided by Sam. He told the probation officer his employment arrangements with Sam was completed in China before he left for Tonga. He was to run the daily operations at a new restaurant.
He moved to Tonga in February, while Sam was still away in China, on vacation. Sam organized accommodations for him through Moreno. He is unemployed as his passport has been forfeited, restricting him from applying for a work permit.
As for the offending, he denied seeing anything in the other rooms in the house. He was assessed to be at a low risk of re-offending due to lack of prior convictions his cooperation and expressed intentions to comply fully with court directions and return to China upon fulfilling all requirements of the Court.
Chao (35), a citizen of the People’s Republic of China also residing in Talau. He moved to Tonga for work arriving in August, 2024. Sam had also arranged for him to travel to Tonga to be a chef at his restaurant in Vava’u. Sam paid for all his expenses to travel to Tonga. He was employed at Sam’s restaurant earning $55 per week up to an inspection conducted by the police and immigration, at his restaurant to verify his staff held valid visas.
After that Sam advised the defendant to stop working. Meanwhile, Chao disputed the summary of facts and told the probation officer that he did not give the fisheries officers permission to enter the residence.
He was at the residence that day to collect Sam’s vehicle that was used by Moreno and the other defendant was sleeping when the Fisheries officers arrived. He denied knowing the presence of the items inside the residence and was there to collect the said vehicle.
Fines
The judge stated that the maximum statutory penalty for both counts is a fine not exceeding $100,000.
“The hefty penalty demonstrate how serious Parliament consider this type of offending. The courts are obligated to treat them as such. Although both counts carry the same penalty, the second count with the higher count of sea cucumbers is the more serious and therefore the headcount.
The aggravating factors here in my view is the total disregard for the moratorium in place and any consequential impact of the removal of that many sea cucumbers on its population or re-population, a significant part of the very purpose of a moratorium.”
After considering the aggravating factors discussed, the maximum statutory penalty, the comparable authority provided, the principles of punishment, denunciation and deterrence, the judge set a starting point of a fine of $7,500 for count one and $8,000 for count two.
For the second and third defendants' clean record and Moreno’s remorse, the judge reduced the fines to those suggested by the Crown, that was a final fine of $4,750 for count one and $5,250 for count two.
The judge then fined all three on count one $4,750 and the second fined $5,250. The total fines of $10,000 each are required to be paid within six months or they will face six months imprisonment each.
In the meantime, all of the sea cucumbers are to be forfeited to the Crown.
