Paletili Afu (33) who pleaded guilty to various counts including reckless driving causing the death of a one-year-old baby boy during a collision on the road in 2016, received a two and a half-years suspended sentence, at the Supreme Court on 18 May.

The court heard this was a tragic case, when the prisoner at around 12:00am was travelling behind a motor vehicle, on 13 August, driving east on Taufa'ahau Road in Veitongo. The vehicle in front of him was a lorry that had as passengers the victim, a baby, and several others sitting in the back.

The accused started to speed up as he went to overtake the lorry and did not see that it had indicated to turn right, just before the Veitongo Primary School. The vehicle driven by Afu collided with the middle right side of the lorry and the passengers were ejected from the tray of the truck, including the baby.

"Having heard counsel, I am satisfied that the gravamen of the offending is the fact that the prisoner failed to keep a proper lookout and appreciate that the lorry was engaged in the process of turning right as he proceeded to pass with tragic consequences. Excessive speed, I am satisfied was not a culpable aggravating factor for me to consider, here," said the judge.

"What I find is that a momentary period of reckless attention in proceeding to overtake the lorry as it was turning right, led to the collision in which, tragically, one of the passengers, a one year old baby, was thrown from the tray of the lorry and died, two others suffered serious injuries and four others injuries of a lesser kind."

The jusge also said it was a concern to the court, but a fact of life in Tonga, that people often travel as passengers in cars or on the trays of truck, without any restraints, seat belts or rails in case of a collision occurring.

"Consequently, it is not uncommon for passengers to be thrown from cars or trucks consequent upon a collision of some kind, sometimes with fatal consequences as this court has seen in a number of cases that have come before it. Indeed, what also gives rise to concern is the fact that there are so many plainly unroadworthy vehicles on Tonga's roads creating an ongoing potential for accidents to occur."

The judge said it is also not uncommon to see vehicles with seriously impaired windscreens, for example or in such an obvious state of disrepair that they should not be permitted to be on the roads, at all. 

"It is not uncommon either 
to see overcrowding in motor vehicles and passengers sometimes children precariously perched on the trays of trucks, and travelling unsafely without restraints," he said.

He considered that the prisoner met all requirements for a fully suspended sentence.

This was after taking into account that the prisoner is a first time offender, had pleaded guilty, cooperative, shown remorse and had aplogized and made financial compensation to the victim's family, and the family is reported to have accepted this.

The suspended sentence is based under strict conditions that the prisoner must undertake probation of 70-hours of community work and shall not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment for the period of the suspension, among other orders.