Saimone Vaka (36), a prisoner, was acquitted of seven counts, including three of sodomy alleged to have been committed on a 19-year-old cellmate, after a Judge found that a confession had been beaten out of him by prison officers at Hu'atolitoli.

In evidence accepted by the court, both men described beatings by prison officers. The complainant had also witnessed a severe beating of the accused.

Hon. Mr Justice Laki Niu in a ruling on August 16, at the Supreme Court in Nuku‘alofa said the Crown failed to prove the charges against the accused. He dismissed all charges after hearing the evidence from a trial held in June this year.

The prisoner had pleaded not guilty to seven counts, with three counts of sodomy, three of assault with intent to commit sodomy, and one for common assault.

The court in its conclusions, accepted that the young complainant was subjected to a beating by prison officers and may have confessed in order “to save his own skin” and as an excuse for running away from the prison.

Crown witnesses

The Crown called three witnesses.

Witness for the Crown, Chief Prison Officer Ponafasio Vake, said he did not know of any beating of the accused and he denied watching it.

Witness Prison Officer Tevitia 'Ikaiu said he did not know of any beatings.

The complainant Lisiate Lakalaka (19) was also a witness for the Crown.

He alleged that two acts of sodomy and the assaults were committed on him by the accused, Vaka, on the nights of March 13 and 14 at a cell where he and the accused stayed. Because of lack of space at the prison he had to share a cell, which had two beds. The complainant alleged that when he was asleep the accused had jumped on him, he was threatened and was afraid and frightened.

Soon afterwards the complainant was allocated to work at a poultry farm of the prison and because no warden was watching, he ran away. When he was later caught, the complainant claimed the prison officers had beaten him into confessing why he had run off. He told them what the accused allegedly had done to him.

Beatings

The complainant Lakalaka said that after beating him, the prison officers brought out the accused, Vaka, who was also beaten by a prison officer, who asked him if he had done these acts to the complainant.

“The complainant described the beating which they had given the accused,” said Mr Justice Niu. “He said that they told him to strip and he did, then they beat him with three siale mohemohe branches, each piece was about one and a half inches thick and about two and a half feet long.  He said each piece was used until it broke and the last piece was used up to 20 times – all on the accused's buttocks – then the accused cried and said that it was true and they then stopped beating him.”

After the beatings the accused and the complainant were transferred to maximum security cells.

Evidence of accused

However, the judge said, the accused in his evidence had denied the complainant's evidence that he committed these offences on him.

The accused (a former electrician from Haveluloto), himself gave evidence and called no other witness. 

He said that while he was working in the cooking area, that Sergeant Vake had asked him what he had done to the complainant. Then the Sergeant collared him and told him to strip to his boxer shorts and shoes. The complainant and the prison officers were all there. He said that the sergeant then said to him that he would beat him until he would say why the complainant had escaped.

“He said that the sergeant old him to lie down on the concrete floor and he did, face down. The sergeant used a piece of metal pipe, which was used for ringing the bell and hit him just above the buttocks with it repeatedly.

“He said that when the strokes got to 25, he asked if they would put him in maximum security and then take him to Court, but the sergeant just kept on beating him. 

“He said that maybe when it was the 38^th or 39th stroke, he was urinating in his boxer shorts, and the sergeant stopped and asked him if he was now going to say what he had done to the complainant. The accused told him that the complainant was lying.”

The accused said that maybe when the sergeant's hand was sore from a nick on the end of the pipe the beating continued using siale mohemohe branches from the fireplace. And it continued, before the accused apologized and asked to stop, and told him that it was true, but to please stop.

The accused said he was punched on his sides by another officer and on the back of his head (noggin)  so that his face hit the wall.

He said the prison officer wrote the statement that the accused signed.

The next morning the accuesed asked to be taken to hospital but he was never taken there. He kept asking for two weeks and had to finally pull out his own tooth to stop the aching. He said Sergeant Vake brought him some tetanus medicine to put on the cuts on his forehead. “He asked him why they were not taking him to the hospital. He said that the Sergeant said that they could not do that until his injuries healed.”

He said he was in maximum security for six months after that, before he went back to the main prison building.

The accused maintained in his evidence that “he was truly injured and he suffered greatly from the beating because he was kept in maximum security for six months because of the beating. He said: 'Just look at my scars and lost teeth in my mouth'. ”

Considerations

The judge considered after hearing the evidence of the complainant [which described sexual acts in detail] he found it “suspect and difficult to accept”. He did not believe that the accused had done what was described by the complainant. 

The judge said the complainant gave no plausible explanation for running away from the prison.

However, he believed he was beaten after he was returned to the prison.

“I accept his evidence that he [Lakalaka] was beaten by the prison officers to tell them why he had run off. He had run off, I have to conclude, for some other reason, and I have to conclude, that he had to make up some plausible reason. For two reasons: one so that his beating would stop, and two and more importantly, so that he would not be found guilty of escaping, an offence which, he knew would entail further imprisonment for him, when he was just about to finish serving his prison sentence at about the end of that month, March 2018,” Justice Niu said.

The judge said, for the complainant to save his own skin, he lied to the officers that the accused did what he subsequently described in his statement.

"His beating then stopped and his escape from custody was accepted to be justified and he was not charged with escaping and he was duly released and discharged at the end of his prison sentence shortly afterwards. He thereby adverted the dilemma and insurmountable situation he was in,” said Mr Justice Niu. 


“The accused was, however, brought out and accused and beaten (to confess to acts of sodomy and indecent assaults which never happened) as both he and the complainant confirmed in their evidence happened to the accused."

The judge ruled that the Crown had failed to prove all the charges, which had been brought against the accused. He dismissed them all.

Mr J Fifita was Crown Counsel for the prosecution.

The accused Vaka represented himself.