Matakimoana Fiefia, a former bank teller at the Westpac Bank of Tonga Nuku'alofa branch, is to serve six months imprisonment for forging a bank customer...’s signature and withdrawing $2,100 from that account.

Mr Justice Anthony Ford in his sentencing of the accused today initially sentenced Matakimoana to 18 months in prison. But after careful consideration of mitigation factors such as pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity and her cooperation with the police during the investigation, he suspended the last 12 months of her sentence for three years to be effective from date of her release. He told the accused that she is young and she will benefit from a period of suspended sentence.

Matakimoana who is in her late twenties was charged with 30 counts of three serious offences of forgery, knowingly dealing with forged document, and theft. She pleaded guilty to all charges in March.

These offences were committed from April 10, 2003 to May 3, 2003 at Kolofo...’ou, where the accused was a bank teller at the time. She numerously forged a Westpac Bank of Tonga withdrawal slip to forge Mele 'Ofa Halaliku...’s signature and withdrew various amounts of cash ranging from $50 to $950 from Mele...’s account, which at the end totaled up to $2,100.

The accused who confessed to the Tonga police that the reason why she stole the money from the bank was to pay off debts and other family expenses as she was the only one employed in her family and the pressure and expenses from her family was much higher than what she could afford with her wages.

Mr Justice Ford told the accused that it seemed she was the only breadwinner of her family and that she took the money to pay for family obligations such as funerals, electricity, telephone and water bills.

"But what you stole the money for does not make any difference because you committed very serious offences, and it is sad that you had such a prominent career and you committed these offences thinking you would get away with it. One aggravating feature is that you did this while working as a servant of the bank and you abused their trust," said Ford.

He accepted the mitigation factors that Matakimona was a first offender, that she made an early guilty plea, the fact that she had since paid back the money she stole from the bank and that she was very remorseful as stated in her Probation Report, which he accepted to be genuine.

The accused had since married and is carrying her first child, which is due in July. She will serve her six months sentence in Hu'atolitoli Prison and when her due time is near the prison will give her all the care she needs, directed Mr Justice Ford.

Samiu Vaipulu represented the accused, and the counsel for the Crown was Sione Sisifa.