Claims and counter-claims continue to swirl around allegations surrounding a supposed court case in Salt Lake City involving an alleged assault on a Tongan woman.
As Kaniva News reported recently, Taufa’ahau (Katalina) Tau’atevalu claimed Mele Finau Satuala, Siulolovalo Fotu and Sapina Fahamokioa were jailed for attacking her.
She alleged Satuala and Fotu were sentenced to 17 years imprisonment while Fahamokioa was sentenced to eight years.
Despite the number of attackers, she claimed she only received an injury to one hand.
In the latest development the Satuala family has denied a family member was jailed in Salt Lake City after the alleged attack.
Sita Lomu from the Satuala family said they considered taking legal action against Tau’atevalu after it appeared her story was fabricated.
Lomu told Kaniva News when they heard the rumours last week they were really concerned. She said his brother in the United States researched their family lineage and could not find anybody called Mele Finau Satuala.
Lomu’s brother Sione Satuala, who lives in the United States, took to Facebook this week and denied the allegations.
Last night the Tongan lawyer supposedly involved in the case, Filia Uipi, told Setita Tu’i’onetoa of Tnews that Tau’atevalu came to his house on Saturday and apologised for making up the story.
Uipi said he pardoned Tau’atevalu and told her to go and do a live video like the one where she made her fabricated claims and apologise to the public about what she had done.
The lawyer said the sentences Tau’atevalu had claimed were imposed on the three alleged attackers were “far beyond” the one to five year sentence normally handed down for first degree felonies.
“To me her story was wrong,” Uipi said.
He said he had not physically been to any court in Salt Lake City for a year because of the Covid-19 restrictions.
There appears to be nothing in the Salt Lake City online court records to show Mele Finau Satuala as being the subject of an arrest warrant or appearing in court or being jailed in Salt Lake City.
