Viliami Latu who was convicted in the Supreme Court of fraudulently converting $1,200 pa’anga at the Ministry of Finance in Neiafu was sentenced to 60 hours of community work.

He was found guilty after trial on March 11 of the offence, which he committed while working as Senior Accounting Officer.

From around February 2017, Latu had a junior employee give him sums of Government money totalling around $1,200 for his own use.

Lord Chief Justice O.G. Paulsen in sentencing on April 17, said this case involves the taking of a relatively small amount of money and he was prepared to accept that it was Latu's intention to repay the money.

“However, his offending is not trivial and to my mind has significant aggravating features. First, the offending involved a significant breach of trust by a senior employee of the Government who should and did know better. Secondly, it appears that he did not need the money, rather he was using the Government as a bank for his convenience.

“Thirdly, Latu involved a junior employee in his offending and was aware that it would be necessary for that employee to falsify the records of the Ministry to cover up the fact that he had taken money if it was not repaid immediately,” he said.

The Lord Chief Justice also did not accept the recommendation in the pre-sentence report as to do so would fail to send the correct message that dishonesty by Government servants will not be tolerated.

However, he decided against imposing a prison sentence because the Court of Appeal has said that imprisonment for purely property offences should not imposed unless there are unusual circumstances that render that appropriate (R v Mo'unga [1998] Tonga LR 154).

Secondly, Latu had no previous convictions and has led an otherwise blameless life providing good service to the Kingdom and through his sporting interests to the community also and the amount taken was small and accepts that his intention was to repay the money.

"Weighing these matters against the aggravating features mentioned earlier, I agree with Counsel that the appropriate outcome is to impose a community service order."

 Latu was then sentenced to 60 hours community work cleaning public areas at Vava’u under the supervision of the Bailiff Officer at Vava'u.

The work is to be completed within nine months from April 17 and is to work on days and times as directed and for not less than four hours but not more than seven hours on any one occasion.

Latu was also ordered within 60 days, he is to repay to the Ministry of Finance at Vava’u the sum of $1,200 and if he fails to do will serve one month imprisonment.