Results for From the Courts

Two men were convicted of murder, after repeatedly beating a father and seasonal worker, Fanaafi Misifani, on the head with metal pipes, at Holonga on 5 October 2019. A third man was convicted of manslaughter. The accused all aged in their 20s, will be sentenced on 17 December 2021.

Tupou Haupeakui who is charged with possession of equipment in relation to an offence against the Illicit Drugs Control Act was remitted to the Magistrate's Court for re-trial before another Magistrate, after his case was dismissed at the lower court. The prosecution brought this appeal to the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court against a decision of Magistrate Tu'akalau on 6 July this year.

Siu 'i Vahanoa Tu’ipulotu (49) was sentenced to two and a half-years imprisonment for serious housebreaking and robbery at a store in Ma'ufanga, where he punched the complainant several times, before stealing goods. The judge said that the accused's own alcoholic self-destruction was becoming more dangerous not only to himself and his family, but also to the community because he was repeatedly demonstrating dark, violent behaviour.

‘Ioane Tavo (63) received a suspended sentence for possession of 0.04 gram of methamphetamine, after his vehicle was searched by Tonga Police at Hala'ovave.

‘Ana Lenilisi Tauvaka (42) received a suspended sentence in the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court today for receiving more than $10,000 pa'anga worth of stolen goods from her son, after he had stolen truckloads of goods from the warehouse of his employer, Adiloa’s Store in Nuku'alofa. The judge said the accused had no previous conviction and that her husband just died in March this year, leaving her with eight children, many of whom are still dependent on her.

Nuku'alofa’s Supreme Court has thrown out a civil claim by a former Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano, who was seeking $5.75 million pa'anga in damages from the Kingdom of Tonga and others, for alleged “malicious prosecution” of him on criminal charges relating to the so-called ‘Tongan Passports Scandal’. The Lord Chief Justice M. H. Whitten, in a 78-page judgment on 28 October, set out details of how the passports investigation began and listed evidence collected by the Serious Organised Transnational Crime Unit. “I find that there was no evidence of any improper purpose for the prosecution. The only purpose discernible from the evidence was the proper invocation of the criminal law,” he stated.

Halatu’u Palei was fined $450 pa’anga or in default face one month imprisonment for unlawful importation of a .22 rifle and 1080 rounds of ammunition seized in Vava'u.

Napole Ta’ufo’ou (45) was fined for unlawful importation of restricted goods; namely a .22 rifle and 400 rounds of ammunition packed in a drum from New Zealand. Hon. Mr Justice Cooper sentenced him on October 15 at the Supreme Court in Neiafu.

Kalapu Felemi (49) received a suspended sentence for serious causing bodily harm, when he used a knife to repeatedly hit and injure his younger brother, Tesimoni Felemi (38) during a drink-up at Tatakamotonga.