Lilieta Tu’itupou (30) who assaulted her 54-year-old mother with a machete remains jailed for three-months, after an appealing against her sentence to the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault on her mother and four-year-old daughter. The Magistrate's Court had sentenced her to four-months imprisonment.

Hon. Justice Tupou in an appeal judgment on March 30 said this was an appeal by Lilieta (the appellant) against the four-months imprisonment sentence imposed by Magistrate Pahulu Kuli, at the lower court.

The court was told that on February 15 this year at Fatumu, the appellant was at home with her mother and her four-year old daughter. She then told her mother that there was a funeral in her father's family.

Her mother did not want to take any part in the funeral as she did not like the family of her daughter's father.

The appellant was then reported to have been very saddened and angry by her mother's attitude so she went and got a machete to hit her with. The mother ran outside calling for help from the neighbours and the appellant hit her bottom with the flat side of the machete, before help came from the neighbour stopping the assault.

The mother then went to the police station and filed her complaint about the attack. She also lodged another complaint on behalf of the appellant's daughter who showed bruise marks on her body and leg.

Medical evidence showed that these bruises were caused by a wooden board, which was presented in the court room with the machete.

Excessive

The grounds for appeal was that this was the first time that the appellant had been charged for a criminal offence; the Magistrate did not give her a chance to give her evidence, and she did not have a counsel to help her.

The appellant claimed that her mother (the complainant) had taught her as child to assault her father's mother as she had hatred toward her father's family.

The appellant also claimed that she could not hold her anger so she chased and hit her mother with a machete, while she ran out of the house calling help form their neighbour. She regretted what she had done.

The appeal was that the sentence of four-months imprisonment was too severe as this was the first time she had committed offences.

Her counsel also submitted that the sentence was manifestly excessive in the view, that she has two young children to look after. She was said to be working earning $150 a week. With her first payment, she bought some diapers and food and gave it to the police to deliver to her mother and children together with $20.

The appellant also claimed to be very remorseful and submitted that this was maybe an opportunity for her to take part in an anger management course, so that she could have a better future with her family.

Mr 'Aho for the Crown did not support a full suspension because of the use of a weapon (machete) for the assault. However, he submitted for the the final two-months to be suspended with conditions set by the Court.

Punishment

The judge said, this was a very sad case involving a 30-year-old daughter assaulting her mother with a machete.

In her emotional evidence before the Magistrate, the mother said that she did not know what would have happened if her daughter had caught her inside the home before she ran out and call help from their neighbour.

She also said that this was not the only time that her daughter attacked her as she had done this before with a hammer and a board of wood. She is afraid of her daughter and that she cannot stay with her any more.

She also described how her daughter hit her child with a wooden board, which left bruises that a medical doctor confirmed to have been inflicted by a board of wood.

The judge found that the judgment given by the Magistrate was very clear with her reference to the Ten Commandments and to Tongan customs and culture.

“Children must respect and honour their parents. The appellant hitting her mother with a machete shows great disrespect and must appropriately be punished. She also hit her child with a wooden board,” he said.

In addition, the judge agreed with the Magistrate that custodial penalty had to be imposed. But that part of the sentence should be suspended to give the appellant an opportunity to be more normal and to respect her mother and her children.

The final-month of the her four months sentence was then suspended for 12-months on conditions.

This included that she must take up an anger management course with the Salvation Army or any other course directed by the Probation Officer.

The appellant was ordered stay at the home of her aunt in Navutoka or other family she approved of.

She was ordered not to go near her mother and children, when released.

She is not visit the home where her mother is staying with her children, unless invited by the mother. She is not to contact her mother personally by telephone or other means but she may do so through her aunt or another person.

She was warned that non-compliance or breach of any of the conditions within the suspended period, means she will be put in jail to serve her one-month suspended, said the judge.

Her sentence was also reduced by seven-days for when she was detained in police custody before being released on March 2.