Tevita Taulanga Tupou (22) had a year added to his current three-years sentence for his most recent offences of serious housebreaking and theft of Tongan mats and other items valued at $14,100 from a church in Ma'ufanga.

Lord Chief Justice Whitten KC sentenced him at the Supreme Court on 14 April. The accused pleaded guilty to both offences in February this year. 

On the morning of 27 October, 2021 when the steward for this Free Wesleyah Church opened the building for the morning service, he noticed that it had been broken into and that nine Tongan mats and two electric fans, with a total value of $14,100 were missing.

The LCJ said Police were able to lift a latent fingerprint from the crime scene and confirm that it belonged to the defendant. Only two ngatu (tapa) were recovered, valued at $2,400.

On 1 December 2021 the defendant was arrested, and he admitted to the offending. He had previous convictions.

The court heard on 6 May 2022; he was convicted of eight separate counts of housebreaking and associated theft of goods valued at a total of just over $21,000 (including a substantial quantity of Tongan mats). This occurred during October and November 2021.

The defendant was then sentenced by at the Magistrate’s Court to three-years imprisonment, all concurrent without suspension.

Co-offender

In his pre-sentence report, a letter from Dr Pepa, who is an authorized psychiatrist and health practitioner for the prison, stated that the defendant had been assessed as suffering from mild mental retardation, stated the Chief Justice

“Notwithstanding, the defendant was fit to stand trial and was not legally insane at the time of the offending. The probation officer opined that the defendant's condition may have affected the accuracy of some of the information he gave her.

“The probation officer assessed him as posing a high risk of re-offending due to his mental condition, association with negative peers, drug use, financial frustration and lack of a positive support system. She further opined that it is critical for the Defendant to receive treatment for his mental condition while incarcerated,” he said.

Serving three years

The defendant is already serving a sentence of three-years for similar offending during the same period, he considered whether the instant sentence should be served concurrently with, or cumulatively (either wholly or in part) to the existing sentence.

"I do not have any information before me to explain why all the offences that occurred during the defendant's crime spree in October and November 2021 were not dealt with together, when the Magistrate's Court sentenced him on 6 May 2022 to three-years imprisonment. Had they been, I have little doubt the total sentence would have been somewhat greater, albeit still within the enhanced jurisdiction of that Court.

“Therefore, having regard to the totality of the defendant's criminality constituted by the present offending, marked particularly by the victim being a church, together with his other offending for which he is currently serving a prison term, marked by the relatively high value of the goods stolen also including Tongan mats, I consider it appropriate to add one year from the instant sentence to the existing sentence, making a total sentence of four years imprisonment commencing from 6 May 2022."

“However, in circumstances where, in this case, co-operated with the authorities, demonstrating an acceptance of responsibility for his wayward actions; his mild mental retardation; and according to his account to the probation officer, a co offender, Mr Malungahu allegedly taking advantage of his condition and orchestrating the offending for his financial gain, among others, the LCJ suspended part of the aggregate sentence as an incentive for his reform.

"He has now served almost the first year of his (now combined) sentence, which hopefully has given him an opportunity to reflect on and adjust his attitude to society, the law and his place in both."

The defendant was then sentenced on this case to three-years imprisonment. One year of that sentence is added to his current three-years, sentence, making an aggregate sentence of four-years.

It was ordered that the final year of the four-years sentence (which commenced on 6 May 2022) be suspended for two-years, on conditions.