Results for From the Courts

‘Aleki Filikitonga (26) was sentenced to one-year six-months imprisonment, which was fully suspended, for theft of $28,000 pa’anga from the Tonga Development Bank branch in 'Eua.

'Ileana Suliana Taulua was found not guilty on five counts of making a false declaration to obtain a Tongan passport at the Supreme Court on June 11. A sixth count of possession of a forged passport was dismissed, after the Crown led no evidence. The Chief Justice also noted that an era within this country to grant passports to non Tongan nationals for considerable sums of money had led to renewals of those passports that caused significant concern.

‘Evona ‘Akau [55] was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 18-months imprisonment, for carrying an excessive number of passengers on the 'Eua ferry MV 'Onemato, in January last year. “Mercifully, there was no tragedy here because, if a life had been lost...more serious charges could have been laid,” said the judge.

A 44-year-old man has been jailed for two-years after he was found guilty on two counts of indecent assault of a teenage girl in 2018. "With the possible exception of the relatively recent rise in serious drug related offences, sexual offences, especially against the young are one of the most damaging ills to the moral and legal integrity of any society," said the Chief Justice.

A 28-year-old man who pleaded guilty to seriously injuring his brother when he hit him with a machete, suffers from mental illness. He was ordered by the Supreme Court to be involuntarily admitted to the Vaiola Hospital Psychiatric Unit, instead of being sentenced.

Two 16-year-olds who pleaded guilty to carnal knowledge of a young girl under the age of 15 years and simple indecent assault received non-custodial sentences, at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on May 29. “In the ordinary case, a custodial sentence would be warranted in order to reflect the Court's denunciation of this alarmingly prevalent type of offending, to protect young girls in society and effect adequate deterrence,” the Lord Chief Justice said.

A man who raped his wife was sent to jail for over five years by the Lord Chief Justice, who sent out a clear message that in any civilized society unwanted sexual violence cannot be justified or tolerated. "Marital rape is a common but under-reported crime."

A man was acquitted of unlawful possession of cannabis and methamphetamine by a Supreme Court judge, who found the police search unlawful. In addition, prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

The Crown has been ordered by the Lord Chief Justice to return more than $10,000 in cash to a local Chinese business. The cash was forfeited when he was charged for false declaration, at Fua'amotu International Airport in 2018.