Bank teller jailed for theft of over $18,000 [1]
Thursday, September 5, 2013 - 14:31
Tevita Noa Finau, a former bank teller at the Westpac Bank of Tonga in ‘Eua, was sentenced to two-years imprisonment after pleading guilty to theft of over $18,000 pa’anga, on September 2.
Chief Justice Hon. Michael Scott in sentencing the accused in ‘Ohonua suspended the final year of his two-year sentence for two-years, meaning he will only serve one year behind bars.
The accused from February to September 2011 took without any rights a total of $18,901 from 18 customers of the bank. He falsified various bank withdrawal slips and customers’ bank books and used his authority as a teller to take the money from customer’s bank accounts.
It is understood that he absconded to American Samoa in September 2011, and was extradited back to Tonga on March 20, 2012.
The Crown Prosecutor was Sione Sisifa.