A Tongan magistrate court has fined Thursday, November 21 three male teenagers hundreds of dollars for pelting a police car with stones.
Soane Loloa, 17, Suli Lau’i 17, and ‘Alamoti Hopoi 19 were each told by Magistrate Similoni Tu’akalau to pay $666.67 to cover for the damages. Tu’akalau also reprimanded the trio.
The magistrate court heard the Nuku'alofa Station Police Superintend Tevita Fifita was patrolling the Patangata area on September 14 at around 8pm..
When the police car approached the village the officer indicated the emergency lights.
The accused were drunk and were at the roadside.
One of them yelled out and told the officer to just indicate only one light. The officer stopped and questioned the accused.
The teenagers eventually hurled abuse at him but the officer got into the car and left to the other end of the village.
When he returned the boys threw stones at the car breaking the rear screen and disappeared.
Police were called to the scene and after scouring the area two of the accused were arrested. The third was arrested later on and charged.
The court was told the teenagers did not know that it was a police car and that the person they verbally abused was a Police Superintend.
The lawyer for the accused told the magistrate the boys have no previous criminal records and this was the first time they committed a crime.
He also told the magistrate the teenagers are unemployed and they just stay home and help their parents with domestic chores and fishing.
