Hausia Vaka’s appeal against his conviction and seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal, upholding his punishment for a brutal machete attack on the victim.
The incident occurred on 22 November 2021, when ‘Atieli Tulikihau discovered his pineapple plants destroyed at his allotment, allegedly trampled and hacked with a bladed instrument.
Vaka, 45, who lived on the neighbouring plot in Tongatapu’s Makapaeo village, admitted to the vandalism when confronted.
Armed with a machete, he challenged Tulikihau to a fight.
When the victim turned to leave, Vaka struck him with the flat side of the blade, knocking him down before hacking at him as he lay defenceless.
Tulikihau suffered severe injuries, losing all use of his left hand’s fingers and requiring an amputation of his thumb.
The trial judge noted that Tulikihau had instinctively raised his arm to shield himself, resulting in the devastating wound.
In his appeal, Vaka made several claims, including self-defence, arguing that he used the machete to ward off an attack and that his lawyer failed to obtain a medical certificate for trial.
However, the appeal judges rejected these arguments, stating that Vaka’s use of the machete was “out of proportion” and “unreasonable”.
They also upheld the trial judge’s finding that Vaka’s defence was “dishonest.”
The court dismissed the appeal in full, reaffirming the original sentence.
Vaka will serve his seven-and-a-half-year term for the violent assault.
