Tonga’s Supreme Court has ordered former Speaker of Paliament Lord Tuʻilakepa to pay a fine of TP$10,000 (US$4,784) for illegal possessing of firearms.
The king’s noble from Vavaʻu was convicted of five counts of possessing guns and ammunitions without a license.
Justice Charles Cato ordered that Tu’ilakepa paid TP$2000 for each charge and must all be paid within 14 days if not he would be jailed for six months.
Justice Cato said Lord Tu’ilakepa was a good man and documents submitted to court showed he was a man of the community and he has helped people in church activities.
The crime has a maximum punishment of 5 year jail terms. If the noble had been jailed for two or more years he would have lost all his noble privileges according to the Tongan law.
His lawyer reportedly said the firearms belonged to a deceased cousin of Lord Tu’ilakepa.
