Results for From the Courts

A couple who have been charged with manslaughter by negligence over the death of their six-month-old baby boy earlier this month were released on bail on February 24. The baby is alleged to have been sick for three-days and died at home from dehydration before the parents took him to Vaiola Hospital.

Nakita Tu’itavake (51) of Kolomotu’a, who was charged earlier this month with possession of cannabis and ammunition, has been released on bail until March 10.

A Magistrate in Nuku’alofa is expected to decide on February 18 whether there is a case for committal to the Supreme Court against two Chinese nationals charged in relation to the forgery of Tongan passports. Police reported that the woman accused had tried to leave Tonga allegedly on a forged Tongan passport after they both entered on Chinese passports on October 11, 2013.

A direction on the Tongan Supreme Court on how to process a civil case that was brought by the former Attorney General, John Cauchi against the Kingdom of Tonga is expected to be announced today, Friday, January 31. The trial by jury was halted in November because the failure of all concerned to sufficiently prepare for the trial had left the court and the jury in an "impossible position," the Chief Justice has stated.

A suspended Police Constable Valeliano Manu (33) and two foreign nationals, Chinchiu Liu (aka Kevin Liu) (31), and ShiQing Lin (32) were jailed on January 21 for over five years for importing over 2 kilos of the controlled chemical pseudoephedrine. A fourth man was jailed for possession. The case involved the importation and possession of a cold remedy known as “contac NT”.

Fifita 'Ofa, a mother whose faces manslaughter charges over the death of her 14-year-old daughter, was released on bail after the case was adjourned to 21 January 2014, to allow the Crown to review the evidence and decide on appropriate charges.

A suspended Police Constable Valeliano Manu and two accused Asian nationals were found guilty for the importation of the controlled chemical pseudoephedrine, a precursor to manufacture the illicit drug methamphetamine. They are remanded in custody for sentencing in January 2014.

A civil-jury trial hearing claims brought by Tonga's former Attorney General John Cauchi against the Government of Tonga is nearing an end as the evidence of witnesses called by the defendant was completed on 25 November, at the Nuku'alofa Supreme Court.

A former Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet Busby Kautoke told the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa this afternoon, that he was not aware of any move by government to force John Cauchi to resign from his Attorney General position in 2010.