Toomas Liiv from Estonia was sentenced to two-years imprisonment, which was fully suspended on charges, including possession of 67.12 grams of cannabis seized at Puke in 2019.

Hon Mr Justice Niu sentenced Liiv on December 18, at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court, after, he pleaded guilty to three charges of possession, cultivation of four cannabis plants and possession of two .12 rifle bullets without a licence on April 12, 2019.

The Court heard, Police had received information that the accused had drugs at his home. They carried out a search there and found the cannabis and bullets. Police said that when the accused was asked who the items belonged to, he told them that they were his.

The probation report stated that the accused came to Tonga from Estonia with his father in about 2003 when he was 18-years-old. After six-months, his father returned to Estonia while the accused stayed on his own, because he liked Tonga. 


He makes a living by doing domestic plumbing and as a motor vehicle mechanic, and his partner weaves mats and ta'ovala. He helps to support her and two teenage children.

The accused admitted that he had previous convictions for possessing cannabis, but had no drug offending since 2007.

Back pain

The report stated that the accused claimed that he had aching and back pain for which he needed tablets from the hospital, and because he was not a Tongan, he has had to pay for those tablets, which he said were expensive and he did not have the money for them. 


The judge said he could have been naturalized as a Tongan subject because he had lived in Tonga for over five-years. 

"You could then have had those tablets for free, but you did not do that. You have chosen to break the law instead." 


However, the accused said he was truly remorseful for what he had done because he brought shame on himself and his family, especially his two teenage daughters. 

That was shown by his admission of the offences to the police and by his guilty pleas to these charges. 

Court inquiry 

Justice Niu said the probation report left many questions unanswered, as far as he was concerned and so he had to question the accused in Court himself, and to his credit, he answered his questions truthfully. 

The accused had undergone a medical examination ordered by the court.

The doctor confirmed that the accused has a back problem, which tests showed was consistent with osteo-arthritis. The doctor prescribed analgesic medication to relieve the pain.

“You told me that you had lifted a heavy weight when you were 15-years old and you had hurt your back then, and that you have been having that pain in your lower back ever since. You said that the pain might last up to two-hours a day and that you had to lie down for a couple of hours to dissipate it. This affected the accused work and life,” the judge said.

The accused said that when he took cannabis, it relieved the pain.

"You therefore resorted to the use of the cannabis and you told me that you had never stopped using cannabis, despite your sentences for possession of cannabis in the past, because of your need to relieve your back pain. You even resorted to growing your own cannabis because you had no money to buy it," the judge said.

Sentencing

For sentencing, the judge considered his sentence should be two-years imprisonment and that a full suspension was warranted, because of the consideration that the possession of cannabis for medicinal purpose.

"Of course it is still illegal and it is still a criminal offence and it ;is deserving of punishment, but it is not the normal possession for consumption for the high, one gets from it. In your case it was for the relief of pain from osteo arthritis."

The judge imposed the two-year imprisonment sentence but suspended in full for three-years, in order that the accused does not touch cannabis ever again.

“If you commit another offence that ;is punishable with imprisonment
, in those three-years, you will have to  serve the suspended sentence of two years imprisonment in addition to the sentence for that subsequent offence, said the judge.

The cannabis was then ordered to be destroyed by Police and the rifle forfeited to the Crown.