Uasila’a Halasima was found guilty at the Magistrate’s Court in Nuku'alofa for extorting $200 pa’anga from two men of Chinese origin, at the Tanoa Hotel in Nuku’alofa. 

The Principal Magistrate, after hearing evidence in the trial convicted the accused of the serious offence, committed against the complainants Hao Yue Wang and Zhu Feng on June 11, 2017.

He will be sentenced on July 21.

The lower court heard the accused was a police officer whose job included enforcement of the “No Smoking” in public places.

After the accused got out of a black taxi in front of the hotel, he walked over and talked to the complainants, who were smoking at a designated smoking area, in front of the hotel beside the road. One of the men gave the accused $200 pa’anga in $50 notes. The hotel security saw this and reported what he saw to his supervisor.

However, on the next day, the accused came back and returned the cash specifically putting it on a table, where the the complainants were sitting. The cash was taken to hotel management who turned it over to Police, when they filed their complaint.

The accused was then charged.

The lower Court heard from the witness who was the security at the hotel, that he didn't hear all what the accused said. But he heard, what he said to the complainants in English which was, they were smoking in a prohibited public area and to give him money.

The proper procedure is that the police officer lays the charge and for that person to pay the fine to the Court.

The accused argued that the complainants said they would give him money and to hand them a receipt. However, this was on a Sunday and he had no receipt with him. It was also not proper police procedure that he goes around with the receipt book. He kept the money to bring the next day, he said.

The accused also claimed that he asked the complainants for their passports but they did not have it. He told them, he would return the next day.

“When I was about to leave one of them put something inside my pocket. It was not until he was on the road, that he saw it was cash,” said the accused.

However, the lower court heard from him, that he was not in uniform and was in plain clothes, namely a tupenu and ta’ovala (Tongan mat) on the waist.

The Prosecution put to him that this evidence that money was put in his pocket was not possible, because he was wearing a ta'ovala because the mat covered his pocket.

In addition, the Principal Magistrate found that the accused was lying and had contradicted himself in his evidence.

He was convicted of extortion.

However, the accused was acquitted on a second count of making a false statement to receive the money.

The Principal Magistrate said this because the elements of this charge must state what was being said.

“The problem was we do not know the context of the sentence that the accused said to the complainants. Although, it has been proven that he spoke them and he was given the cash, in the first count.

“In addition, the hotel security's evidence was that he understood what the accused said in his actions for the complainants to give him money. But he could not tell the Court, the accused's exact words.”

The Principal Magistrate noted even if the Crown had proven the second count, it would have been an instance of potential double jeopardy, where an accused cannot be convicted of two offences arising out of the same incident. 

This case had been adjourned many times.