Tangata 'o Pangai (a.k.a. Pinomi Lavemai) was sentenced to 14-months imprisonment for possession of 1.63 grams of methamphetamine.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten QC sentenced the 33-year-old on April 23, at the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court. He pleaded guilty to the offence in March.

On October 7, 2019 the Police Drugs Enforcement Taskforce (DET) received information that he was selling drugs from his car. Together, with the Tactical Response Group they located the car and stopped him in Kolomotu'a. 

He said when the defendant got out of his car, one of the officers found in his hand a piece of paper containing a substance, suspected to have been methamphetamine. He told the officers that there were drugs in his vehicle.

During the search, police also found a number of dealer bags, a smoking pipe and a weighing scale. Each bag contained a crystallized substance. 

The substances were weighed and tested and found to be 1.63 grams of methamphetamine.

Delivering drugs

The Chief Justice said the probation officer reported that the defendant admitted to his mistake.

He also explained that he agreed to deliver the drugs for a friend because he was behind in his car payments and feared that his vehicle would be repossessed. 

The probation officer opined that the defendant was genuinely remorseful and has the capacity to change and grow, if given the opportunity. 

The Chief Justice said, the maximum penalty for possession of methamphetamine is a fine not exceeding $1 million or 30 years' imprisonment or both, and regarded the defendant's explanation to the probation officer of the nature of his involvement in the offending to be doubtful, at least.

"The presence of methamphetamine in a number of packets, in different locations in the defendant's vehicle, together with a smoking pipe and weighing scales is more consistent with the nature of the information received by police than the defendant just being a courier on this one occasion."

In addition, those factors support a reasonable inference that the defendant possessed the drugs for the purpose of supply. For the purposes of sentencing, possession for the evident purpose of supplying, lies somewhere in between possession and supply, he said.

The recent amendments to the Act, if applicable here would have had the effect of deeming the offending to be supply, again, by reference to the amount being over 0.25 of a gram, he said.

However, the amendments do not provide different maximum penalties for possession versus supply (or the other types of offending in s4) save for the new demarcation between amounts less than 1 gram and 1 gram or more, said the Chief Justice.

"While, the defendant is to be sentenced for possession, the nature and surrounding circumstances of the offending point to a case of possession for the purpose of supply.

He then sentenced him to 14-months' imprisonment. But with the final six-months suspended for 12-months that on release, he must not commit any crimes during suspension, complete rehabilitation program/s on drugs, alcohol and life skills, among other orders.

Failure to comply with any the conditions, the suspension order may be rescinded and he will be required to serve the balance of his sentence. 

The illicit drug was ordered to be destroyed.