Indian nationals face marijuana and forgery charges in Tonga [1]
Thursday, November 3, 2005 - 19:19. Updated on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - 14:03.
Two Indian nationals appeared in the Nuku‘alofa Magistrate's Court today, November 3, on separate charges of possession of marijuana and forgery of documents.
The two accused are Balvir Singh of India and Lakhwinder Toor of Kolomotu...a, Tonga.
Singh is charged with possession of marijuana after the police found on October 28 a plastic bag containing the illicit drug at the accused's home at Kolomotu...a.
Toor is charged with two counts of forgery and conspiracy to forge with others immigration documents in an application for a Tongan passport in March 2004.
Magistrate Salesi Mafi adjourned the hearing to November 17 when the two accused are to appear for their Preliminary Inquiry.
Bail
The two accused men are released on a $3,000 pa...anga bail, together with two sureties each, if they do not turn up for their Preliminary Inquiry on November 17. Passports were also retrieved by the courts to prevent them from traveling outside Tonga.
The two accused first appeared in court together with two other Indian nationals on October 28 after being arrested by the Tonga police the day after a raid at their home at Kolomotu...a.
The two other Indian men were released with no charges by the Magistrate's Court on October 31.
Siosifa Tu‘utafaiva represented the two accuseds and Chief Inspector Vili Tulua was the prosecutor.