A Tongan Supreme Court judge has accused Learned Magistrate Similoni Tu’akalau of failing to recuse himself from a case involving an acquaintance.
The case had been successfully appealed and a Supreme Court decision ordered a retrial before a different Magistrate Court judge.
The Supreme Court had been told Mr Tu’akalau had declared the conflict of interest before presiding over the case.
The Supreme Court judgement said Tongatapu police stopped a vehicle with broken taillights at Fanga in September 2023.
The driver was Uasike Pailate, and the passenger was the accused, Ma’ake Kali.
Upon close inspection, the police found a wet boat engine inside the vehicle next to Kali, who was sitting in the car’s passenger seat.
They seized the engine and took it to the police station.
Not long after the engine was seized, Sione Silivou Taufalele of Tatakamotonga reported to the police that his engine had been stolen from his boat at a beach.
Police believed the seized engine belonged to Taufalele, so they charged Kali with theft.
Magistrate decision
The case previously went to the Magistrate Court before Mr Tu’akalau acquitted Kali.
Mr Tu’akalau in his judgement ruled that the Crown had not proven all the elements of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.
He saidl that in relation to the element determining the value of the boat engine, there was no evidence given that verifies the value of the boat engine at $7,000. This would especially need to determine a sentence if Kali was to be found guilty.
In relation to the element of Kali taking Taufalele’s boat engine, Mr Tu’akalau said no evidence proving or witnessing that Kali took the boat engine from Taufalele’s boat was put forward in court.
However, Supreme Court judge ‘Elisapeti Langi said: “Another issue raised by the Prosecution and which, in my view, clouds the judgement of the Learned Magistrate is the fact that he is closely acquainted with the accused and his family”.
Justice Langi said Mr Tu’akalau had clearly informed the Prosecution that he is very good friends with the accused’s older brother and that he finds it difficult to judge this case.
However, the Prosecution had agreed for the Learned Magistrate to hear the trial because the case had been around for too long.
“In my view, His Worship should have removed himself from hearing this case as there was a real likelihood of bias”, Justice Langi said.
“Although the Prosecution agreed for him to hear the case, the Learned Magistrate should have removed himself as he had confessed to finding it difficult for him to judge this case”.
