Tonga Soane was found guilty of three counts of uttering counterfeit currency at the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court.

He gave out $700 pa'anga in counterfeit money to a patrol station, a bartender and a taxi driver.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten QC on February 25 convicted him after a trial earlier this month.

The offencers were commited on December 6, 2019 and during the early hours of December 7, when the accused knowingly gave $50 pa'anga of counterfeit currency to Sulieti Koloamatangi for fuel of his vehicle at Telekava Service Station.

He then gave $350 in counterfeit to the Reload Bar and another $300 to Mo'unga Palu for the hire of her taxi.

Fake

Police on December 9, 2019 received a complaint lodged by Mo'unga, the taxi driver at Hufanga base about having received the counterfeit money from the accused on the morning of December 7.

The accused insisted that the money he had given the taxi driver was genuine currency and that he had no idea the money was fake. 

A search by warrant was then conducted at the accused's property, where police did not find any counterfeit notes or equipment for making counterfeit notes. 

At that stage there was only one complaint had been lodged but then Sulieti Kolomatangi, who worked at the Telekava petrol station filed anotjher.

On that on the night in question, the accused gave her a counterfeit $50 note for fuel. 

The Chief Justice said in the physical evidence there was and could sensibly be no doubt that the notes comprising of (a report on counterfeit notes) exhibit P5 were counterfeit.

"Anyone with the slightest familiarity with genuine Tongan $50 and $100 notes, they were obviously fake." 

He said, apart from the most striking feature of identical recurring serial numbers across the two denominations, the notes possessed all of the defects described in the Reserve Bank report.

“Worse, and as described by two of the lay witnesses, at least one of the $100 notes showed signs of the two leaves of ruled white paper, which formed the note, coming apart. To the naked and untrained eye, the notes represented a patently amateurish attempt.

In addition, all the events on the night in question occurred during a period of less than about eight hours. That is, there is a close temporal connection between them.

The Chief Justice in convicting the accused, did not consider the evidence to be capable of supporting any inference or hypothesis consistent with his innocence. 

"I am therefore satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the prosecution has established that the accused knowingly uttered counterfeit currency as alleged in counts 1, 2 and 3 of the indictment," stated the Chief Justice.

He will be sentenced on April 1 and his bail was extended on the existing conditions to this date.