Salesi Fa’aoa was found guilty on possession of 0.3 gram of methamphetamine seized in his vehicle on Vuna Road last year. He will be sentenced on April 30, at the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten QC convicted the accused, after a trial this month.

In reasons for his verdict on March 29, the Lord Chief Justice found beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had actual or imputed knowledge that the methamphetamine found in his vehicle, up in the passenger side ceiling above the lining, belonged to him.

The accused evidence claimed that Samisoni Tupou had admitted to Police to owning the drugs in question. This was in November last year when the accused and Samisoni were released from prison. However, Samisoni did not directly give evidence in court to corroborate this. The accused claimed he could not get hold of him.

The accused who was charged with another count of possessing 26 rounds of .22 calibre ammunition without a licence, changed his plea to guilty.

He admitted that the ammunition was in his possession when he was charged.

However, he claimed that the ammunition belonged to a customer who brought his car into his car wash business and that he only took the ammunition out of the customer's car and kept it in his own car for the customer to return to pick up. The customer never returned to pick it up.

Search and seizure

The illicit drugs and ammunition were seized on the evening of June 18, 2020 when police stopped the accused in his vehicle on Vuna Road.

This was after Police Officer Vi, who was in charge of the operation that day, received reliable information from one of his informants that the accused, who was referred to by name by the informant, was selling drugs from his vehicle on Vuna Road in Ma'ufanga. 


The accused’s vehicle was searched by police officers and the ammunition was found in the front passenger glove compartment. Other items found included one silver weighing scale, one silver piece of paper containing one empty packet, one pack containing two packs of 'ice' or methamphetamine, one smashed test tube, one pack containing empty packs, one test tube, another pack of containing empty packs and $153 in cash. 

The accused in his evidence claimed that Samisoni told him that he had admitted to owning the drugs.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten said that was self-evidently and not reliable evidence, and was hearsay and a statement of self-interest. 

He said, despite the asserted previous conversations with Samisoni, and ample opportunity to have Samisoni come to court and give that evidence directly, the accused failed to do so and did not accept this explaination due to that failure.

While the legal onus in this case remained at all times on the Crown to prove the elements of the offence beyond reasonable doubt, the fact that the accused sought to deflect responsibility for this crime on Samisoni cast an evidentiary burden on him. He had failed to discharge that burden.

“Due to other inconsistencies in the accused's evidence, particularly the weighing scales, the circumstances surrounding the ammunition count and his failure to have challenged any of the police officer's evidence, I do not accept his assertion that the drugs belonged to Samisoni,” said the Lord Chief Justice.

“In adition, due to information received from the informant about which Inspector Vi gave evidence was important in one respect: the informant named the accused as being the one driving around selling drugs that day.”

He was also satisfied that the information relied upon by Officer Vi constituted reasonable cause to suspect that there were illicit drugs in the defendant's vehicle and that therefore the search was lawful. 

“That the subsequent search produced not just the methamphetamine, the subject of this count, but a number of other drug paraphernalia, is also telling in relation to the accused's admission to owning the weighing scales and I did not accept his uncorroborated assertion that they were for anything to do with selling of jewellery or his belated reference to sometimes selling gold.”

The Lord Chief Justice was satisfied that they were used for selling drugs.

While, the others items such as the test tubes and other packets were not contested by the accused nor did he claim that they belonged to Samisoni.

"Those findings of primary fact therefore support the view I have reached beyond any reasonable doubt, that the accused had actual or imputed knowledge that the methamphetamine found up in the passenger side ceiling above the lining belong to him."

He convicted the accused of the drug offence.

Sentencing submissions and a pre-sentence report are to be filed by April 23. While, the accused bail is extended to the sentencing date.