Viliami Paletu’a (41) was sentenced to two-years and two-months imprisonment for possession of 3.16 grams of methamphetamine, at 'Umusi in 2020.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten QC sentenced him on April 23, after he pleaded guilty to the offence in March at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court.

On September 29, 2020 the Police Drugs Enforcement Taskforce received information that the defendant's co-accused, Creed Tongamoa was selling drugs from his workshop.

Later that day, police raided the workshop and both men were apprehended and searched.

Tonga Police found, among other things, 0.17g of methamphetamine on Tongamoa.

The search also found a total of 13 dealer bags containing 3.16 grams of methamphetamine as well as other drug-related paraphernalia, including a test-tube, empty dealer bags and weighing scales. The defendant admitted to police that these methamphetamines belonged to him.

Substance abuse

The Chief Justice said that a pre-sentence report revealed that past alcohol abuse led the defendant to methamphetamines.

He also admitted to the probation officer to being a substance abuser and was reported to have started using methamphetamine to boost his energy when he had a lot of work, for as he described it, more work means more money, he said.

At the time of the instant offending, the statutory maximum penalty for possession of methamphetamine is a fine of $1 million or 30-years' imprisonment or both.

"The Court's responsibility in addressing drug-related offending involving methamphetamines is to ensure that sentences imposed ... are adequate and effective in denouncing and punishing such crimes, provide a strong deterrent effect, not just for individual offenders but also for the general communit and those who may contemplate succumbing to the toxic allure of illegal drugs and also to provide incentive and opportunity for rehabilitation of those who have succumbed."

The Chief Justice also said that while the defendant was not particularly young, he had a previous good record and had co-operated with the authorities.

“His admission to police at the outset, early guilty plea and subsequent efforts to redeem his life, are good evidence of his acceptance of responsibility and genuine remorse,” he said.

“Sadly, and as with his co-accused, that the defendant has a family to support is as the Court has stated on numerous occasions, not a basis itself for suspension. Any suffering his wife and children are likely to endure during his incarceration is the direct result of his decision to succumb to, and most likely to have profited from illicit drugs,” said the Chief Justice.

"The Court must also ensure that a balance is struck between the need for effective deterrence on the one hand and to a very limited extent, the personal circumstances of the offender and those dependent on him."

He then sentenced him to two-years two-months imprisonment, but with the final 12-months suspended for two-years.

This on conditions that during the suspended period, he must not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment, 
must 
complete a drugs and alcohol awareness course as directed by his probation officer, be placed on probation, among others.

Failure to comply with any of the conditions may result in the suspension being rescinded, in which, the defendant will be required to serve the balance of his prison sentence, warned the Chief Justice.

The illicit drug was ordered to be destroyed.