Lelei Vaiangina (54) was sentenced to nine-months imprisonment, fully suspended for possession of 0.04 grams of methamphetamine seized outside a vehicle at the Nuku'alofa (Central) Police Station last year.

Justice Langi sentenced the accused in December, followed by a written statement today, stating Vaiangina was convicted of the offence, after a trial in October at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court.

The Court heard on March 27 at around 10:18 pm, the accused drove his vehicle and turned into the police station. 

He was arguing with a passenger named Heilala who was also inside the vehicle.

The accused was said to have demanded that Heilala return a mobile phone she had taken. While they were arguing, a police officer walked over to them and inquired into what the problem was. 

It was during this conversation that Heilala told the police officer that the accused had come over that night and given them something to smoke. This caused the police officer to believe that there could be illicit drugs inside the vehicle. 

A search was carried inside the vehicle and police found one test tube used for smoking methamphetamine inside the glove compartment in the front passenger side. Inside the test- tube were particles of methamphetamine.

The accused is a citizen of the United States of America and is married with children, who were all still residing there. The accused had been in Tonga since arriving in February 2020 and earned a living by taking on general building contracts. 
 

The judge said the accused admitted to using methamphetamine as an anecdote to health complications, but that he did not use drugs now, as he could no longer afford to buy them. 

He is a first-time offender in Tonga, 

The judge believed that he should be given an opportunity to receive help for his addiction.

"I hope for his benefit that he takes the opportunity granted to him to make use of the tools that will be given to him through drug and alcohol courses to change his life around."

She then suspended the whole of his sentence for one-year on conditions that he remains crime free and was to carry out 70-hours of community work, among other conditions.