Filimone To’aho (40) was sentenced to one-year jail for the theft of $17,767.81 pa’anga, which he borrowed and misused to purchase 20 vehicles from Japan.

By May this year, he repaid most of the money.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten QC fully suspended his sentence on conditions, at the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court. This was after, he changed his plea to guilty on May 21.

The Crown did not call any evidence regarding another count of obtaining money by false pretences.

Super Cheap Tonga

The Lord Chief Justice said on October 2017, the defendant who operated Super Cheap Tonga car dealership requested a loan from the complainant's finance business of $17,767.81 pa’anga to purchase the 20 motor vehicles.

As security, the defendant pledged ownership of the vehicles in favour of the complainant. The defendant then agreed to sell the vehicles, except for two which were to be retained by the complainant, then repay the loan from the proceeds of the sales and retain the balance.

The complainant agreed, he said.

On November 3, 2017 the complainant arranged for a telegraphic transfer of the funds to SBT Japan. By March 2018, the complainant had not received the vehicles. The defendant told the complainant that the ship had been delayed, he said.

"However that same month, an associate of the defendant told the complainant that the vehicles in question had arrived from Japan, but that the defendant had sold them to other car dealerships."

A representative of the shipping company confirmed that the defendant had changed the ownership of the 20 vehicles from the complainant to two other car dealerships. When confronted, the defendant explained that he had changed the ownership of the vehicles to the other dealerships, because the complainant had not advanced all the money he requested, he said.

"The complainant refuted that explanation and told the defendant that if she could not receive her vehicles, she wanted her money back."

In April 2018, the defendant approached the complainant and told her that he had eight vehicles under the care of the same shipping company that he would sign over to the complainant.

A contract to that effect was signed. However, when the complainant went to collect the vehicles, she found that the defendant had already sold them to another car selling business. After various unsuccessful attempts to recover her money, the complainant lodged a complaint with the police, he said.

Repayment

The court heard on December 10, 2020 the defendant gave the complainant $10,000 and apologised to her.

He also told her that he had misused her money and admitted to selling off the eight cars to another car dealer. On May 19, this year he repaid a further $7,000. 

The Lord Chief Justice said, it was important that there was a meaningful allowance for the repayment of $17,000 made by the defendant.

"'It demonstrates his desire to atone and lessens the impact of the crime on the victim."

He then sentenced him to one-year imprisonment.

In comparison with another case he quoted, the defendant's offending was relatively unsophisticated and short-lived, he said.

The Chief Justice then considered it was appropriate to fully suspend the sentence for two-years.

This was on conditions that he pay the complainant (by payment into court) the remaining balance of $2,924.56 by July 30 this year, perform 60 hours of community service, among other requirements.

"Failure to comply with any of the above conditions may result in the suspension being rescinded, in which case, the defendant will be required to serve the balance of his sentence."