Matini Poafa (18) received a suspended prison sentence for causing serious bodily harm to another student whom he punched, fracturing his lower jaw, while he was asleep in a bus last year.

Hon. Mr Justice Niu during sentencing on April 22 condemned his lawless behaviour.

The accused had pleaded guilty to the offence.

The victim was Siosaia Naitoko who underwent surgery, after the accused broke his lower jaw in two places.

The judge said, one fracture was on the front left side and was the other fracture was to the rear left of the jaw. It swelled up and was excruciatingly painful.

The accused told police that prior to his offence, a group of Liahona High School boys had come and attacked him at home. He claimed the victim was one of them.

He was angry with them for doing that. The accused was from Tonga College.

Lawless behavior

The offence was on October 28, 2020 when the accused got on a bus at Pea. The victim was already on the bus as he was travelling home to Afa, where he lived.

At Malapo, the accused noticed that the victim had gone to sleep. He walked over to him and punched him on his jaw. 


The judge said, the victim could not speak or eat as his mouth was deformed and his face was distorted. It had to be operated to re-set his jaw and to affix a piece of steel to it to strengthen and to maintain the shape of his lower jaw. 
Although, he went to the hospital on the same day, they could not do that until October 30.

His operation was carried out on the front left fracture. Wire braces were also inserted to hold the fractured bones at the rear lower jaw together as well 
He could not open his mouth to eat or speak. He had to drink only water, milk and juice for a week.

When the one week ended, the wires which held the two jaws together were removed but the wire braces were kept on to keep the fractured bones of the lower jaw together to continue growing together naturally, but he had to eat only soft foods like liquefied biscuits and weet-bix.

The judge said, unfortunately, the piece of steel, which had been inserted to hold the front left fracture in line together has had to be left in place to maintain the strength of his lower jaw and it will have to remain there permanently.

The victim said that when he presses on that steel piece it hurts.

Deliberate heavy punch

The accused is now attending Fokololo Institute and is taking a course on electrical engineering.

He and his family had apologised to the victim. “They had accepted your apology and the $200.”

The judge said, a sleeping person's lower jaw is just hanging loosely and is completely unprotected.

“He ought to have known that a heavy punch to the victim’s lower jaw at that time would be sure to cause fracture.

“Knowing that, you deliberately delivered a heavy punch to left front of his lower jaw. It immediately broke the lower jaw in two places.”

“You took the law into your own hands to enforce your own right against Siosaia Naitoko for having attacked you with his Liahona High School friends at your home at Tokomololo,” he said.

The judge said, instead of complaining to the police for what the accused and his friends did to him, which is what the law required him to do, he thought that he would enforce his own right against him.

“That was a most irresponsible thing to do, because if everyone is allowed by the law to do that, there would be no law and order. There would be chaos. No one would obey the law anymore. Everyone will do what he wants.”

“In addition, this Court must express its condemnation of such irresponsible and lawlessness behavior to which you have pleaded guilty,” said the accused.

However, the judge noted that the accused is young, a first offender who is likely to take the opportunity to rehabilitate who cooperated with the police by pleading guilty.

He was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment, fully suspended for three-years. This is on conditions, that he serves 40 hours of community service, placed on probation and attend and complete the anger management course of the Salvation Army. 


The accused was warned, if he commited another offence punishable with imprisonment, within those three-years, he would serve his suspended sentence.