Lord Tu'iha'ateiho appeared at the Fasi Magistrate's Court on December 7, at the beginning of a Preliminary Inquiry into a case of illegal possession of firearms.

Presiding Magistrate Pita Soakimi adjourned the Preliminary Hearing to January 2012, when the defendent's counsel, Siosifa Tu'utafaiva could not attend the hearing, because he was engaged in another case at the Supreme Court.

Lord Tu'iha'ateiho, is a Ha'apai Nobles' Representative to the Tongan Legislature and a former Acting Speaker of the House. His legal counsel, Sifa Tu'utafaiva, is a People's Representative to the Tongan Legislature, and the current Chairman of the Whole House Committee.

The Tongan Legislature last month, on October 11, slashed the maximum penalty for the illegal possession of firearms from $5000 to $1000, and from five years imprisonment to only one year.