A 31-year-old man, Vaingalo Pulotu, was sentenced to three-years and six-months imprisonment for grievous bodily harm, when he stabbed a teenager in the back with a knife, in 2019.

The offence occurred on the morning of January 22, last year at Ngele‘ia while the victim, Ha'ualofa Latiume, was walking on the road near his home. He became involved in complaining about a noisy motorbike at a house where the offender was.

Violent crime

The defendant Pulotu pleaded guilty to the one count of grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced by Lord Chief Justice Whitten in February, at the Supreme Court.

The Chief Justice said this was a violent crime, carrying a maximum penalty of 10-years imprisonment.

He did not accept that the victim's earlier swearing at the defendant's vehicle as he drove by constituted provocation in the relevant sense, so as to amount to any significant mitigation.

It is not known whether the defendant even actually heard what the victim said. Assuming that he did, some time passed between that and when the defendant drove his vehicle back onto the main road and found the victim and confronted him. Clearly, the defendant decided to go and find the victim and brought a concealed knife with him, he said.

“There is no suggestion that the victim had or ever presented any weapon at the outset of their altercation.”

The Chief Justice said, what started out as a simple fistfight resulted in the potentially life-threatening infliction of a knife wound by the defendant.

"The use of the knife in those circumstances constituted excessive force and could not be regarded as any form of lawful self-defense.

“In my view, the most likely explanation for the defendant's conduct is that he set out with the intention of finding the victim and stabbing him as some sort of punishment for the victim's earlier swearing him, while he was driving past in his vehicle,” he said.

Deterrence

"Sentences for any form of assault in which a knife is used to inflict harm must include a significant component for specific and general deterrence."

In addition, having regard then to the seriousness of the offence, including the defendant pursuing the victim and initiating the altercation, the lack of any material provocation, the planned use of a knife and the resulting potentially life-threatening injury, the appropriate starting point in this case, was five-years imprisonment, said the Chief Justice.

Due to his early guilty plea and cooperation with police, the defendant received 18-months discount.

The Chief Justice then sentenced him to three-years six-months at Hu'atolitoli Prison. The last six-months of the sentence was suspended for a year, on conditions. The defendant was not a first offender.

Noisy motorbike

The confrontation followed an incident that the victim Ha'ualofa Latiume became involved in, while walking with another person to his house to get ready for work.

A person walking on the road ahead of them, called out to one Tevita Savieta, who was at a house to stop making noise with his motorcycle because it was loud. But Tevita replied to stop being smart and got on his motorcycle and made more noise at the house belonging to Fililangi Ta'ai.

The Court heard the victim Ha'ualofa Latiume became angry with Tevita and challenged him to a fight, but was stopped by another person. The victim and the others continued their walk to the victim's house.

However, around this time, a vehicle drove by heading towards Fililangi's house. The victim swore at the vehicle but it continued on.

The victim went to his house and got ready for work and walked back on the same road. When he reached the area close to Fililangi's house, the same vehicle returned to the main road. The vehicle reached the victim and stopped.

The defendant Pulotu got out of the vehicle with a knife concealed in his right hand and said to the victim, "You want to be a bad ass?"

The court heard the defendant tried to punch the victim but missed.

The victim punched the defendant and the defendant then stabbed the victim in his back.

The defendant is reported to have then removed the knife and walked back to Fililangi's house, while the victim struggled to walk back to his house.

The victim was rushed to Vaiola Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery for a punctured lung, without which, he likely would have died.

Pulotu was subequently arrested by Police. He cooperated and admitted to the offending.