Heneli Losalu (25), ‘Akapei Fa (20) and Semisi Moeaki (20) have been jailed for serious bodily harm, committed when they jointly attacked and injured a 17-year-old in the village of Puke in January this year.

Hon. Mr Justice Cooper sentenced them on 14 September at the Supreme Court in Nuku’alofa.

Heneli was sentenced to two-years' imprisonment. While 'Akapei and Semisi received one-year nine-months' imprisonment each. The final 12-months of each sentence was suspended for two-years, on conditions.

The trio who had no previous convictions pleaded guilty to the charges.

Attacks

The court was told that on 23 January at around 10:00pm the complainant, Penetiki Mo'ui Luani was with a friend going to drink kava.

The judge said as the complainant was walking there, Heneli chased the two of them, armed with a rock. They ran off, arriving at the kava club, but Heneli confronted them inside and challenged the complainant to a fight. 

Heneli hit the complainant and a fight broke out but it was defused by the other men present at the club, albeit temporarily. Heneli then left the clubhouse, but went to the complainant's residence. This time he had other people with him. 


Unnerved by the disturbance, some of the complainant's female residence confronted the group who dispersed, but not after throwing a metal rod, which struck a vehicle close to the women.


Someone contacted the complainant telling him to return home because others had gathered and there was a confrontation at his residence. 


The complainant quickly did this, accompanied by his brother and the friend he had initially gone to the kava club with. They got back to find the group had left. 
The complainant then went with his brother to face Heneli at his home. 


The judge said this turned out to be a very unwise thing to have done.

“Heneli, 'Akapei and Semisi all came out; they surrounded the complainant and those with him. They pelted them with rocks. 
One of which thrown by Heneli, struck the complainant in the mouth and he blacked out. There was then a fight before the defendant group quickly ran off. ”

The complainant was taken to the hospital that day and later in that week underwent surgery for a double fracture of his jaw. 
The procedure involved a mini plate being screwed into the bone to hold his jaw together.

Zero tolerance on violence

The judge said this was an attack by a group of older boys against a younger one and that it took place at night, when it would have been dark.

The Crown had distinguished the defendants on the basis that it was the first defendant, who actually caused the injury. 

"I must say I do not accept this analysis. Firstly, they acted jointly and attacked as a group each throwing rocks at the victim and his group. As such they are jointly liable."

“Secondly, the first defendant was involved in a far more protracted attack than the other two, initiating it, armed from that start and a participant throughout every violent confrontation that there was. 

“He is also older than the others by what I regard as a significant amount, five-years older than his co-defendants, he said.

"It is a tragedy of this case that these young men are getting prison sentences today. But this court cannot allow this level of violence, with rolling attacks spilling over into peoples' kava clubs or private residence, especially when in the name of the inter college rivalry. That is simply demented and wrong."

Any further violence in the name of any such rivalry will end the same way. These sentences both reflect the gravity of the offending and the need for its punishment as well as deterring and denouncing it."