LAST UPDATED 3:20pm: Two students of Tonga College hospitalised after an attack by Tupou College students in the village of Koloua-‘o-Kolomotu’a, Tofoa are still in the hospital with serious head injuries but in stable condition, a source from Vaiola Hospital told Kaniva News this afternoon.
The source is not named as he was not authorised to release any information but he confirmed the two Tonga College students are still receiving treatment and still under the care of the nurses and doctors.
Kaniva sought the hospital's confirmation after posts on Facebook went viral saying one of the students has died last night, drawn thousands of Tongans into a heated debate and discussion on the social media.
Our source said that was not correct and he told us to contact Dr Viliami Tangi or Dr Saia Piukala as they are the two surgeons who are working for the two students but the "doctors are currently attending to a case in the surgical ward".
The victims were two of the students who were in the house while the attack took place on Thursday night July 18.
Police said the attack was vicious and it was conducted while a mother, teacher at Tonga High School and her children together with the Tonga College students were in the house.
A local told Kaniva News the students from Tupou College allegedly arrived without villagers awareness armed with sticks, woods, timbers and pieces of iron.
They entered the residence at about midnight smashed the house’s sliding doors and windows before they got in and assaulted the occupants.
Another group was organised to wait outside and make sure there was no intervention from the neighbours and villagers, he said.
In June a fight broke out between the Tonga College students and students from Tupou College in the area and a father of some of the Tupou College students involved was allegedly injured.
In May a group of more than 100 students from Tupou College arrived by bus at the village of Veitongo to attack a home in the area belonged to some Tonga College students.
At one stage it was alleged that some Tonga College students hurled stones at a Tupou College bus days before this incident happened.
A swift intervention of the locals helped avoid any disaster and police were called to the scene.
On one occasion, students from Tupou College surprisingly arrived at Tonga College armed with sticks and irons smashing class rooms and school buildings.
The tension between the two colleges has been in the history since a huge split between Wesleyan Church followers in 1885 that saw the birth of the Tonga College by Prime Minister Shirley Baker and King Tupou I while Tupou College was previously established in 1866 by Missionary Dr James Egan Moulton.
Police investigation was underway.
– We removed from this article what we reported as – the mother and his children together with the Tonga college students believed to have been asleep while the attack took place. We interviewed the mother recently and she said the attack happened while they were still staying awake.
