Deputy Prime Minister Taniela Fusimālohi has sternly warned reporters about the dangers of inaccurate reporting while providing an update on a complaint he lodged against former Cabinet Minister Sevenitiini Toumo‘ua.
Toumo’ua alleged that staff from Fusimālohi’s Ministry of Infrastructure had dismantled a house previously provided to a family in Ha’asini.
His Facebook allegations included what appeared to be photos of himself and the family living in the house.
The allegations had been promptly raised in Parliament, leading to heated exchanges between Toumo’ua and Fusimālohi, who vehemently dismissed them as false. Fusimālohi said at the time the matter was reported to the Police.
He told reporters on Friday during a press conference that the Police are investigating (“fai e ngāue ki ai”) the complaint.
The disputed house was reportedly part of a government project involving hundreds of prefabricated homes built for the recent Pacific Leaders Forum in Tonga.
After the event, some of these temporary structures were allocated to needy families.
Fusimālohi previously emphasised in the House that the former minister’s claims were false.
On Friday, he urged reporters to verify facts before publishing analyses.
“Inaccurate reporting could land you in court,” the Deputy Prime Minister cautioned, referencing Tonga’s sedition laws, Section 48 and the Electronic Communication Abuse Offences Act (2020).
The latter criminalises using digital platforms to harass or spread harmful content, with penalties of up to $10,000 in fines or three years’ imprisonment, or both.
Deputy Prime Minister Fusimālohi issued this update following his warning to FM 87.5 regarding its analysis program, which inaccurately reported that the government had illegally terminated contracts of former directors of government boards.
Fusimālohi clarified that the contracts had expired naturally in March of this year as per their original terms, and the Eke government had simply declined to renew them.
He noted that the Caretaker government had pre-signed extension of these contracts in December 2024, a move the Eke government maintains was illegal, citing the Caretaker government’s limited authority under the law.
Police investigations into the former minister’s social media posts are ongoing.
