TRL suffers the consequences of illegal import [1]
Thursday, December 9, 2010 - 18:00. Updated on Tuesday, January 7, 2014 - 16:45.
Editor
I read with fascination the very long letter of Saia Moehau and all the reasons why it wasn't the TRL's fault that customs seized and destroyed the illegally imported wine!
Firstly it was the Governments fault for not giving the TRL money.
Then it was that naughty Mr Nash, Head of customs, who had the cheek to destroy the wine that had been bought in without import or liquor license and had been undervalued in an attempt not to pay the full duty.
The TFL do not seem to have learnt the lesson that if you try to import goods illegally then you risk them getting destroyed. If I was customs I would red flag TRL and double check every other shipment that comes in to Tonga.
The CEO of TRL is a business man who is involved in bars and restaurants and must have known the rules around liquor importation yet chose to ignore them and suffered the consequences. Mr Moehau seems to believe that these rules apply to all other legitimate businesses that import alcohol but not apply to TRL. Legitimate business owners have a right to complain loudly to Customs if someone is trying to circumvent the system .
Thank goodness Mr Moehau did not get elected in to parliament . We need honest men and women with integrity to lead our country.
'Ofa Atu
Salote Tu'itupou
salotetonga [at] gmail [dot] com