Results for Tonga

A man who admitted purchasing and smoking meth, after pleading guilty to possession of illicit drugs, was discharged without conviction after a judge found he had 0.52 grams of methamphetamine left in a small bag, when police searched his trousers pocket. In acquitting Maika Maile (38) Justice Niu considered the amount of meth was “so infinitesimal”.

Thirty-seven Tongan citizens received scholarships to take up university studies starting next year in Australia and the Pacific region.

Sami Likiliki Fisilau (52) was sentenced to two and a half-years imprisonment after pleading guilty to serious bodily harm and domestic violence committed on his 44-year-old wife in Vaini last year. “Domestic issues are no justification or excuse for violence and domestic abuse will be met with firm penalties," Mr Justice Cato told him.

Dr Geoff Neal, lead veterinarian for South Pacific Animal Welfare (SPAW) is currently in Tongatapu with his team of volunteers offering much needed vet treatment for the island's animals. They say Tonga has the greatest need in the Pacific because vet care is not easily accessible here.

Tonga’s repayment of its $119 million pa'anga loan from the EXIM Bank of China for the reconstruction of the Nuku‘alofa Central Business District has been deferred for another five years.

A 16-year-old boy who assaulted and robbed a Chinese shopkeeper in February this year was discharged without conviction by a Supreme Court judge on November 26 in Nuku'alofa who considered that: “a conviction for such a serious offence as robbery will be far more detrimental than the injury and theft he committed to the complainant."

This month 100 years ago, the Kingdom of Tonga was in a state of distress and alarm after a deadly influenza virus reached its shores, infecting most of the population and killing between 1,000 to 2,000 people (an estimated 4 – 8% of the population at the time) between November 1918 and January 1919. The mahaki faka‘auha - the disease that kills, brought Tonga to a standstill. By Eleanor Gee and Finau Fonua.

Six contestants in the 2018 Miss Pacific Islands looked radiant on November 30 as they paraded on colourful floats through central Nuku’alofa.

A Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise led by Tonga Police and supported by key partners on November 26, aimed to test weaknesses and strengths in a Tonga National Search and Rescue Plan, in response to a ferry sinking scenario.