A witness told the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court today, Thursday, June 19, that she saw and overheard the accused People's Representative, 'Isileli Pulu saying to smash and burn the Shoreline building during the riots of November 16, 2006.

Pulu, is charged with eight counts of abetment to murder and one charge of abetment to arson relating to the eight deaths that resulted from the fire set at Shoreline on November 16.

In Day Three of the jury trial, Meleane Manu, the seventh witness of the Crown, testified that on November 16 she was at her home situated on Taufa'ahau Road opposite the Royal Tombs in central Nuku'alofa.

She was preparing food when someone called from outside to come out because there were many people on the road and that Molisi Tonga Supermarket was being smashed.

Meleane said she went outside and saw on the road many people who she did not know, some were carrying stones, some with sticks even metal bars and they were coming from town going towards the fakatonga or south.

Recognised the accused

She heard some people say to go and smash Shoreline and some said "this is the future of our children". Then she saw a group of people walking close to where she was standing and she recognised the accused was one of them.

Meleane said she saw 'Isileli Pulu raise his hand and he said "to smash and burn Shoreline" and she also saw him holding his mobile cell phone.

The witness told the court that when they got close to where she was standing that she heard him say, "some are already there, some have not reached there, but I am on my way".

Terrible event

In the cross-examination of the witness by the counsel for the accused, Clive Edwards asked the witness to confirm the time she alleged to have seen and heard these things.

She said she did not bother to check the time because she was confused as this is the first time she saw such terrible events in Tonga and she was also concerned for her son who was working at Molisi Supermarket.

But she told the counsel that she did see 'Isileli Pulu raise his hand in what she believed to be signalling or directing the crowd to go forward and he said, "to smash and burn down Shoreline".

She also recalled seeing the accused talk on his phone and overheard what he said, that some were already there, some had not reached there, but he was on his way.

Counsel for the accused presented to the witness and to the court a Tonga Communications Corporation telephone record that showed the calls made to and from Pulu's mobile phone from lunchtime to 6:00pm on November 16, 2006.

He read out that between 3:56pm and 6:15pm only two calls were made and that was to the accused's wife.

The counsel put to the witness given the phone record how could she confirm what she just said about overhearing what Pulu said. He also told the witness that he would call TCC witnesses to testify that no calls were possible at this time because the network was jammed.

Cell phone working

However, Justice Warwick Andrews interrupted and asked the counsel to clarify, because did not the phone record prove that Pulu's phone was, indeed, working at this time?

Clive responded that the phone line was jammed and the only calls made were shown on the record presented.

He continued and said 'Isileli would be called to give evidence that he was not able to talk on his mobile phone because the line was not working at the time.

The witness nevertheless confirmed that this is what she saw and heard.

Meleane also added that although she was confused at the time, her attention was fixed on the accused because she had voted for him.

The trial continues in the Supreme Court with many more witnesses to give evidence.