Results for Supreme Court

‘Alifeleti Uasi (20) and Niviko Maea (18) have been jailed for serious housebreaking and theft of $68,971 pa'anga from a residence at Halaleva in 2022.

A prisoner, Motuku Kafalava (25), who is serving a life imprisonment sentence for murder, was sentenced to concurrent jail time, for possession of a substantial amount of methamphetamine. His 24-year-old co-accused, Latu Veamatahau got a lengthy jail term.

Andy Hayden Fukofuka (36) received a suspended sentence for possession of arms and ammunition without a license, the he disclosed when stopped at a check-point on his way to get vaccinated in Nuku'alofa, in 2021.

Ryan Vakaahi (29) was sentenced to three-years four-months imprisonment for causing bodily harm, when he shot another man on his thigh with a .22 rifle at 'Anana.

Siaosi Brown (22) was sentenced to 18-months imprisonment for possession of 222.69 grams of cannabis seized at a home in Fanga.

Viliami Halalilo and Tukumo’ui Havea have been found guilty of common assault, when they punched and kicked a 21-year-old victim in Neiafu, Vava’u. “They indulged in sheer hooliganism and behaviour and not keeping with the dignity and high standards of the Tongan Police Force,” said the Supreme Court judge.

Nesiasi Kamoto (49) received a suspended sentence for discharging a .22 rifle to intimidate his relatives, who were living at his tax allotment in Tofoa.

Siaosi Brown (31) was found guilty of possession of illicit drugs, namely 222.69 grams of cannabis seized during a police search at a residence at Fanga. He will be sentenced on 11 November. In delivering his verdict Mr Justice Cooper was critical of the Crown prosecution's attempts to to call a convicted drug user to attempt to undermine the evidence of two police officers. “That sort of error needs to be properly understood so it is not repeated,” he warned.

A pregnant mother of four, Kahealani Tonga (38) was sentenced to 14-months imprisonment, which was fully suspended, for possession of 2.09 grams of methamphetamine. “Though she may not have been the person making the money from the deal she was facilitating this devastating trade, which is a scourge that destroys the minds and lives of so many people in Tonga," said the judge.