Three young men died in Tongatapu between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve.

Two died in a road accident at Fonongahina, on the Hala Liku when a car driven by a 27-year-old man swerved off the road and collided with a coconut tree. The driver and his only passenger, a 31-year-old man, were both declared dead on arrival at Vaiola Hospital.

The Tonga Police reported that the accident increased the number of road deaths for 2011 to twelve, being six more than during the previous year 2010.

The third death during the week was a 16 year old teenager who was found hanging in his home at Kolomotu'a in the afternoon of December 31. Police reported that an inquest on January 1 concluded that the victim took his own life by hanging.

Community safety

During the festive season from 23 December 2011 to 3 January 2012, there was a decrease in reported crime compared to the same period last year. A total of 75 criminal offences were reported, compared to 112 recorded during the same period in 2010.

Out of the 75 offences, 23 were for assault, 19 house breakings, 14 thefts and three each of inflicting bodily harm, willful damage to properties, and unlawfully being in an enclosed premises at night, and two for inflicting grievous bodily harm, trespassing, and willful damage to cultivated plants.

Most of these offences took place in Tongatapu, with 30 recorded at the Central Police Station, Nuku'alofa; 27 at Mu'a and Vaini Stations; seven at Neiafu, Vava'u; five at Nukunuku, Tongatapu; four at Leimatu'a, Vava'u; and one each at Houma, Tongatapu and 'Eua.