Ma’ake Kali (42) was sentenced at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court to two-years imprisonment for receiving a stolen motor vehicle in January 2019.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten imposed the sentence on September 18, after the defendant was found guilty in a two-day trial in August.

The Court heard on January 2, 2019 an employee noticed that his employer's vehicle, which was normally parked at the front of a store at Tofoa, where he worked was not there.

He asked the owner about the vehicle's whereabouts. The owner confirmed that he had the keys, but he did not know why the car was not parked outside.

Security video footage from the night before showed a man, whose face could not be identified, breaking into the vehicle and driving off in it. The owner of the vehicle then posted notices on social media that the vehicle was stolen and offered a reward for its return.

On 4 January 2019, Monika, another employee saw the defendant driving her employer's vehicle, which she recognised from the social media notices.

She rang her employer, and he went to her house and asked for her help in returning the vehicle.

Monika made arrangements to meet the defendant with the vehicle and told him that the Police and the owner of the vehicle were on their way.

The defendant told her to mind her own business. Monika noticed the vehicle had no key and that the ignition was damaged. She and her boyfriend provided information to the police, who arrested the defendant.

He declined to participate in a record of interview and said he would give his evidence in court.

The Chief Justice said, however, after being warned he told the investigating officer that he did not steal the car but found it when he was walking outside a village. 

When the police officer asked him whether he contacted police about the vehicle, he said, "No, it was a gift from the heavens that he would use".

During his evidence at trial, the defendant admitted that he knew the vehicle was stolen when he found it, and intended to take it home in order to take it to the police the next day.

Crown's submissions revealed that he had previous convictions for theft, escaping from prison, unlawful assembly and riot as well as destruction of buildings.

The most recent was on June 11, 2019, when he was sentenced to two-years imprisonment for theft, with the last nine-months suspended on conditions.

The Chief Justice said having regard to his previous record for dishonesty and lack of remorse for the instant offending, he agreed with the Crown's submission that an appropriate sentence was two-years imprisonment.

In addition, he rescinded the suspension on his last sentence requiring him to serve the remaining months of that sentence.

The net result was that the defendant is now serving a total of 30-months imprisonment.