Man jailed for killing grand-uncle [1]
Saturday, February 6, 2016 - 10:18
Tevita ‘Ahoafi was sentenced to four-years imprisonment on Friday, 5 February for the manslaughter death of his paternal grand-uncle whom he killed in 2013 when he repeatedly struck him with a metallic pipe and a piece of wood at Ha’avakatolo, Tongatapu.
Mr Justice Cato in his sentencing on Friday, 5 February at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court said part of the reason for the delay in this matter progressing more quickly was because the prisoner had been placed under the care of Dr Puloka, a specialist psychiatrist at Vaiola Hospital.
He said the prisoner had a history of admission to the mental facility at the hospital, the most serious of several admissions in 2009 when he had assaulted his uncle by hitting him in the mouth and causing injury. He had on those occasions been prescribed antipsychotic drugs.
With regards to this offence, the prisoner had returned home at around midnight on May 23, 2013 from drinking kava and went to his small house. His grand-uncle lived with his wife and others in the main house on the same property.
The prisoner then noticed a light on in the main house and thought there was a burglary. He went to check and as he entered, he saw his grand-uncle Sione Puku 'Ahoafi standing at his granddaughter's bed fondling his penis in her presence.
The prisoner then went out quietly and found a metal pipe and approached the deceased from behind and struck him numerous times on the arms and legs but he did not fall. He then went out and got a piece of wood and hit him on the side of the face causing him to fall.
The Crown accepted the prisoner's guilty plea to manslaughter on December 11 last year in discharge of its indictment for murder to which he had pleaded not guilty to earlier in June 2014.
Mr Justice Cato said he sentenced the accused consistently with his plea to manslaughter on the basis that he did not know that what he did was likely to kill the deceased although he plainly intended to seriously harm and disable him when he hit him about the head.
"In my view the trigger for his action was his belief that the deceased was likely to seriously abuse his granddaughter."
The judge sentenced him on the basis that he was an impaired person mentally and assessed his responsibility also in that light.
"I impose a four-years sentence backdated to the date when he was remanded in custody. which includes any period that he was kept in hospital for assessement and treatment starting from May 30, 2013," he said.
The court had also heard that the prisoner had been at hospital under Dr Puloka for several months now, and on his recent assessment of the prisoner, he was a person with a cannabis disorder and schizophrenia.
The judge also issued a treatment order considering it is necessary that the prisoner's treatment be closely monitored and medication taken to minimize any repeats of this kind of offending.
He said Dr Puloka may after the period of imprisonment and this treatment order has elapsed seek a further order that the prisoner be detained further as an involuntary patient.
“That may be the only viable option if he cannot be placed with persons who can ensure he takes his medication.”