‘Ilaisaane Kolo (19) was sentenced to eight-months imprisonment for the theft of $15,000 pa’anga, which was inside a handbag she stole from a woman at her home market in Ma'ufanga.

Hon. Mr Justice Cooper sentenced her on 22 June at the Supreme Court in Nuku’alofa, after she was re-arraigned where she changed her plea to guilty for the single count.

The offence was on 30 August 2022, when the complainant who had organised a fea (fair table) at her home. She had left her handbag that contained a substantial amount of cash, unattended. The defendant came to look around the fea, spotted the money and stole $15,000 of it.

The judge said on the same day, Miss Kolo used $6,000 of it to buy a car. A hue and cry was broadcast on Facebook by the complainant, and the couple who had sold the defendant the car contacted her and the police became involved and swiftly located and arrested Kolo.

Some $5,155 of the stolen money was recovered and Miss Kolo admitted to what she had done. After, she pleaded guilty she stated she did not want a pre-sentence report and requested she be sentenced as soon as possible.

In addition, she had a number of previous convictions, all dealt with in the Magistrates' Court. An offence of theft in 2020 a further offence of theft in 2022, both led to community penalties being imposed. Also there was a matter of escaping lawful custody.

On 21 October 2022, she was sentenced to nine-month's imprisonment, with the last three-months suspended for one-year, for another theft; this time of $500. The instant offence pre-dates that last sentence, said the judge.

"With her history of offences for dishonesty it was not appropriate to fully suspend her sentence, though it was judged some account ought to be taken of her youth."

The judge said had she pleaded guilty to this at the time she was sentenced last before the Magistrates' Court, albeit that would have meant there were two offences of dishonesty to consider, the Court took the view that the correct starting point would have been 18-months for both offences.

That being so, the view was taken that having served six-months on that earlier sentence; that ought to count towards any term the Court now imposed. That approach was given effect by reducing the starting point accordingly, he said.

An 18-months starting point was set which was reduced by four-months for her guilty plea; a 20% reduction is 3.6 months, as a matter of fairness rounded up to make four, thus 14-months.

Because the six-months that had been served on the last sentence was deemed to count, that time is subtracted, leaving eight-months prison term, he said.

She was then sentenced to eight-months imprisonment, with the last two-months suspended for one-year on conditions. She is now serving six-months in prison.

"Any breach of those conditions will lead her to be sentenced to the suspended portion of that term. Any breach is reserved to myself."