Results for From the Courts

A man was convicted at the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court for indecent assault and sexual domestic violence of a young girl in Tongatapu. He is detained in police custody for sentencing on October 29.

Three men were ordered by the Supreme Court to serve community work or in default serve terms of imprisonment, for seriously damaging a vehicle and unlawful possession of a .22 rifle.

Semisi Pulu (46) was sentenced at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court for causing serious bodily harm, when he attacked a 15-year-old boy at Kolonga with a gardening hoe. The Chief justice denounced the aggressive outburst of violence and imposed a deterrent jail sentence.

A Nuku'alofa Supreme Court judge quashed a conviction and sentence against Fangatapu Ngavisi at the lower court for killing a sow, because there was a miscarriage of justice. The appellant had lawful authority under regulation 6 to kill the pig, which damaged the land on which his crops were growing.

Liufau Latu (30) was sentenced last week to three-years three-months imprisonment for causing the death of his passenger Tevita Moa Taufa (27) last year in Fatai, in an early hours crash after a night out in town.

Timote ‘Asa was sentenced to a deterrent sentence of six-years imprisonment for numerous charges, including rape and abduction of a young woman in Tongatapu. In sentencing at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court on September 18, the Chief Justice protected the identity of the complainant.

Tinitale Finau (45) was sentenced today at the Supreme Court to two-years imprisonment, which was fully suspended for cultivating 54 cannabis plants in 'Eua.

Three men who caused the death of Sione Feimoefiafi (49) by stomping on his head at and outside the Tali‘eva Bar in the Nuku'alofa CBD in 2019, were today found guilty of manslaughter. They are detained in police custody for sentencing in October.

Talikivaha Palei Posoni was acquitted of possessing cocaine at Te'ekiu, after a Supreme Court judge found that the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond reasonable doubt the offence. There were discrepancies in the evidence because the analyst's report about the substance she received did not match the substance found by police at the accused's house.