Semisi Pulu (46) was sentenced at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court for causing serious bodily harm, when he attacked a 15-year-old boy at Kolonga with a gardening hoe.

The victim is a school boy. He and the defendant both live in the same village and are related by blood. 

Lord Chief Justice Whitten on September 30 sentenced the defendant to two-years imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty.

The Court heard on May 28, 2020 the defendant's mobile phone went missing from his vehicle. A woman who lived opposite to where the vehicle was parked told him that she had seen the victim standing around his vehicle and looking inside it. 

He drove to another person's residence to ask about his mobile phone and was again told that the victim had taken it. He then drove to the victim's house to retrieve his phone.

However, the victim denied taking it. With that, the defendant punched the victim to his face and then picked up a gardening hoe and hit him with it multiple times. The victim used his arm to shield himself. The defendant continued hitting him until t
he head of the hoe broke off. When he saw the victim's brothers running towards him, he got into his vehicle and left. 

The victim was then taken for medical treatment. He suffered swelling to his left cheek and right arm. X-rays later showed that he also sustained a fracture to his right elbow.

A complained was lodged with Police in May and the defendant was arrested. He co-operated and admitted to the offending. 


The Crown submitted information from the Magistrate’s Court, that the defendant was convicted in 2018 of common assault and disorderly behaviour and was fined. Further in 2019 he was convicted of reckless driving and fined.

The aggravating features of the case included the youth of the victim, that he was assaulted in the vicinity of his residence where he ought to feel safe, that after being initially punched he was assaulted with a weapon, that he suffered swelling to his left cheek and a fracture of his right elbow.

In addition, there was no provocation for the assault, the defendant's belief that the victim took his mobile phone was no justification for the assault that followed, the offending impacted the victim's education because he missed school due to his injuries, and that this is serious offending.

Protect vulnerable 

The Chief Justice said the use of a gardening hoe, with its steel edge is still very dangerous and potentially more so than other objects, such as rocks or even hammers. 

“It is not clear, on the facts admitted in this case, whether the defendant used the edge of the hoe or just the back of the metal head when hitting the victim. I suspect that if the edge had been used, the injuries may well have been far more severe. 

“In any event, and assuming the hoe was in reasonable condition, the fact that the head of it broke off gives some indication as to the degree of force used and number of blows struck by the defendant. I am cognizant of the fact that this offending was the direct result of the defendant taking the law into his own hands, he said.

“Whilst he started out justifiably seeking the return of his mobile phone which had been stolen from his vehicle, his aggressive outburst of violence, exacerbated by the use of an object to inflict serious harm, is conduct the law cannot condone.”

The Chief Justice said, in that sense not only must the sentencing objectives of denunciation and protection of the vulnerable be served, the sentence must also provide specific and general deterrence. 

The defendant was sentenced to two-years imprisonent. However, the final 12- months of the sentence was suspended on conditions, upon his release.

He was warned that failure to comply with the conditions of suspension may result in him serving the balance of his imprisomment sentence.