Magistrate Salesi Mafi this morning requested that journalists suppress the names of  the six accused in the Preliminary Inquiry into the death of New Zealand Police officer Kali Fungavaka, which entered its third day at the Nuku'alofa Magistrate's Court today.

After calling the journalists from various media organizations into the Magistrate's chamber before the inquiry began at 10:00am he verbally told them not to use names of the six accused in their news coverage. The Magistrate had initially directed journalists at the start of the inquiry, to report responsibly.

The President of the Media Council Inc. (Tonga) Pesi Fonua, this afternoon wrote to Magistrate Mafi seeking clarification on whether the verbal request for name suppression in the open court was in fact a Court Order, or was it a request, or just a suggestion for the media representatives covering the Preliminary Inquiry?

Magistrate Mafi indicated in writing that it was a request, stating "but I can make it an order if I think it will protect the rights of the defendants to a fair trial.

"I am thinking of their rights to a fair trial. But if people called to be jurors have preconceived ideas in their mind from the media then they may not be impartial," he noted.

The Attorney General Neil Adsett this afternoon advised that the media representatives should follow the Magistrate's direction, and "pending clarification from the Magistrate treat what he has said as a requirement that you do not now disclose names."

The Attorney General also stated that this is a Preliminary Inquiry to see if the Magistrate is satisfied that there is a sufficient case to proceed to trial in the Supreme Court. "Only the prosecution case is put forward at this stage and the defence have not had the opportunity of stating their case, so the public should be careful to keep an open mind until all the cases are revealed."

Coverage

This is the third day of the Preliminary Inquiry and media organizations have extensively aired and published details revealed in the inquiry, which included the names of the accused and their alleged part according to the evidence given by the witnesses who were called by the prosecution. The six men charged with manslaughter, with an alternative charge of causing grevious bodily harm include five police officers and one civilian.

Giving evidence this morning were police officers who were on duty on the night of August 17, 2012 when Kali was arrested. This afternoon further evidence was given by some of the inmates who were in custody at the Central Police station on this night in question.

The Preliminary Inquiry is held in open court and the prosecution is expected to call 32 witnesses.