Car dealer jailed for defrauding customers of $59,950 [1]
Friday, April 9, 2021 - 18:06
Malia Selupe (32) was sentenced today to three-years imprisonment for obtaining by false pretences around $59,950 pa’anga from customers, at her car dealer company in Longolongo.
Lord Chief Justice Whitten QC sentenced her at the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court, after she changed her plea to guilty on five charges, in February earlier this year.
She operated a car dealer business called Tavatu’utolu Motors. She held the business out as being able to import motor vehicles from Japan through online bidding and sales.
The Chief Justice said, between May 2016 and August 2017, she received a total of $59,950 from four complainants for the purchase of motor vehicles.
None of the vehicles ordered ever arrived in Tonga. At the time, the defendant gave the purchasers a raft of different excuses mostly concerning difficulties with or delays caused by the supposed Japanese supplier. Despite assurances to some of the purchasers that they would receive refunds, none eventuated, he said.
Repeated dishonesty
In this case it was premeditated and systematic nature of the defendant’s operation in taking advantage of the four complainants over a period of 14-months.
“Her breaches of trust, her repeated dishonesty in lying to the complainants after they had handed over their money, the overall quantum of the moneys obtained and the failure, despite repeated promises, to make any restitution are, in my view, circumstances which render imprisonment necessary.
“She also chose to maintain her not guilty plea up to and throughout a trial until after the completion of her evidence. In doing so, she put the State, the prosecution and the witnesses to significant expense and inconvenience,” said the Chief Justice.
"Perhaps even more importantly, the defendant's chosen course only served to prolong the angst of the complainants, many of whom attended court during the trial. The seriousness of the offending, the need for effective deterrence, the effect on the complainants, and the personal circumstances of the offender and those dependent on her."
The court also heard she is a mother of five young children, and the effects of her going to prison will likely have on their lives during their formative years, are matters to which attribute significant weight.
Partial suspension
“It is also a basis for hope that a partially suspended sentence will have a strong deterrent effect on the defendant and that she will take the opportunity to rehabilitate herself and abstain from any further acts of dishonesty or breaches of the law,” said the Chief Justice.
He then ordered that the final 12-months of her three-year sentence, be suspended for two-years on conditions.
During suspension, she must not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment; must complete life skills or such other courses, among other requirements.
Failure to comply with any of those conditions may result in the suspension being rescinded and the defendant being required to serve the balance of her sentence, warned the Chief Justice.