Results for From the Courts

‘Elikisoni Langi (67) was fined $10,000 pa’anga for importing prohibited goods, 5,000 rounds of ammunition and five .22 rifles, concealed inside a crate at the wharf in 2019.

Two women, including a former police officer, who advertised an illegal pyramid scheme, were ordered by the Supreme Court to pay $4,000 each or in default face imprisonment. "This sentence should act as a warning that pyramid and/or ponzi schemes are illegal in Tonga and anyone thinking of operating such a scheme will face severe punishment," warned the Judge.

A 62-year old man was sentenced to seven-years imprisonment for six counts of indecent assault of a minor aged 12 years old, on Tongatapu.

Three Tongan Cabinet Ministers have lost their appeals against court decisions that declared their election results void. Eight judgments from a Special Court of Appeal session, held last month, were released late this afternoon in Nuku'alofa. The Appeal Court said, “If there is a lesson to be learned, candidates for an election should be astute not to make any gifts within three-months of an election...Rather they should withhold their largesse until after the election.” Some of the other appeals were also dismissed.

Two men who were acquitted of possessing 2.19 grams of methamphetamine but were found guilty on lesser counts received suspended sentences, at the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa.

Kalolaine Fainga’a (30) was sentenced to two-years imprisonment for serious housebreaking and theft of electronic goods valued at around $12,095 pa’anga. A stolen iPad was tracked by GPS to a home in Tokomololo and then Police recovered all the other stolen electronic equipment from a shop. A co-accused was charged with receiving stolen property.

Sitaleki Tu’itavake (48) was sentenced to four and a half-years imprisonment for possession of 2.87 grams of methamphetamine 
and 3,153.7 grams of cannabis in two separate incidents. The judge declined to suspend any part of the sentence. "All his recent history demonstrates a flagrant disregard for the law and the opportunities afforded to him for rehabilitation. With his escalating drug offending, he is also becoming a risk to himself and the community,” he said.

Rodney Toki (28) who is currently serving a lengthy jail term for a string of armed robberies, at Chinese-run shops in Tonga, has been sentenced to five-years and four-months imprisonment for other offences in a crime spree that spanned from late July until the end of August 2021.

Hausia Vaka (43) was sentenced to seven and a half years imprisonment for causing grievous bodily harm, when he attacked and severely injured his neighbour's left hand with a machete at Makapaeo."What he did was attack a defenseless man on the ground and aimed a machete blow at his head, which in turn caused these life-changing injuries," said the judge.