Half a container of counterfeit brand name cigarettes was ordered to be destroyed, in a ruling by Justice Thomas at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on April 21.

The court was told that about 300 sleeves of counterfeit Winfield Extra Mild cigarettes was all that was left from a 20-foot container full that arrived in Nuku'alofa on October 1, 2004.

The cigarettes were imported from Singapore from the ESPL Marketing Pte. Ltd. by a Tongan registered company, G & P Trading Company of Pahu. The G & P Trading Company was registered on June 22, 2004 by two Tongans (a man and a woman), and a Chinese man.

Since the arrival of the container, the owner of Winfield Extra Mild, the American-Cigarette Company (Overseas) Ltd., and his Tongan agent, the Central Manufacturing Company Ltd. were claiming that the cigarettes were counterfeit. They sought a court injunction for the shipment to be destroyed. However, while the container was held up at Queen Salote Wharf it was broken into twice, so that in the end only half of the contents of the container remained.

On October 18, 2004, the American-Cigarette Company (Overseas) Ltd., the plaintiff, sued G & P Trading Company Ltd., and asked the court to order the destruction of the contents of the container No. PCIU 3224051 and for the defendant to pay the costs of the proceedings.

Following a two-day hearing on April 20-21, Justice Thomas was satisfied that the analysts both in New Zealand and in Australia found that the cigarettes in the container were not and never had been manufactured by Winfield, and the cigarettes in the container were counterfeit and who ever manufactured or produced the cigarettes had breached the trade mark rights of the plaintiff company.

He ordered for the remaining shipment of cigarettes to be destroyed forthwith, and the full travel and accommodation costs of the witnesses of the plaintiff from overseas were to be paid by the defendant. He also ordered that the plaintiff was entitled to the payment of his full solicitor's and client's costs subject to the normal practices of the Supreme Court in Tonga.

The legal counsel for the plaintiff was Mr Laki Niu and the defendant was represented by Mr Kaufusi.

It is understood that the cigarettes were to be destroyed immediately by incineration.