The fraudster Lavulavu couple are reported to have appealed their six-year imprisonment sentencing after they have been sent to jail on Friday July 2.
A report by VPON Media said the appeal by Akosita and āEtuate Lavulavu had been lodged last week on Thursday 1.
The report said lawyers for the Lavulavu have also sought bail for the couple pending their appeal hearing.
It is understood the couple were previously refused request following their conviction to allow ‘Etuate to leave Tongatapu and travel to Vava’u.
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According to Tongan law, the Lavulavus could be granted bail if the court is satisfied that ā there is a reasonable prospect of the appeal succeeding; the appeal is unlikely to be heard before the whole or a substantial portion of the sentence has been served; and there are substantial grounds for believing that, if released on bail (whether or not subject to conditions) he will surrender to custody without committing any offence whilst on bail.
The appeal by the Lavulavus came after the Appeal Court in 2019 refused Tongasat companyās application to present new evidence in an appeal against a decision handed down against it.
Tongasat ā formally known as the FriendlyĀ Islands Satellite Telecommunications Ltd ā appealed the judgment and asked the court for permission to produce new evidence.
New evidence can only be introduced if the court grants permission on special grounds.
However, the Court said none of the evidence was discovered for the first time after the trial.
āThe role and involvement of the new witnesses was known in 2008 and 2011, the witnesses were living in Tonga and available to be interviewed here,ā the Court report said.
The Tongasat appeal was therefore dismissed.
Lavulavu sentencingĀ
Former Cabinet Minister and MP āAkosita has been sentenced to six years inĀ prison.
However, the Supreme Court suspended the last 12 months of her sentence Ā for two years on condition that she comply with the probation officer, satisfactorily complete a life skills course and commit no offence punishable by imprisonment.
Her husband, who has a long record ofĀ court appearances and convictions, will serve the full six years.
Both defendants were convicted on three counts of obtaining money by false pretences.
They were found guilty of fraudulently obtaining money from the Ministry of Education and Training by lying in applications for money from the Technical Vocational Educational Training Grant about the number of students enrolled at their private college, the āUnuaki āo Tonga Royal Institute.
Mr Justice Cooper, presiding, said, he utterly rejected their claims that the money was used for the Institute.
The judge said they could have been charged with theft.
The court was told the Lavulavus had committed a carefully executed fraud over several years that amounted to a serious breach of trust.
Mr Justice Cooper told the court a pre-sentence report on āAkosita said there had been no attempt to repay the money, that she still maintained her innocence and showed no remorse.
The judge said āAkosita had supplied false references, something the pre-sentence report described as āan act of dishonesty which further proves her true character.ā
Mr Justice Cooper said āEtuate Lavulavuās offences were not out of character and was known to be deceitful. He posed a risk of re-offending.
The judge said a pre-sentencing report on āEtuate found that he still denied the offences; showed no remorse, blamed the court for being biased and did not accept his guilt. He had offered to pay all the money back in exchange for a community penalty and being spared prison.
āHad either defendant admitted their guilt and repaid the monies, as they seemingly can afford to do, then I would have approached this sentence in a totally different way,ā the judge said.
āInstead, Mr. Lavulavu offered what some might think sounds very much like a bribe to stay out of prison.ā
The judge said he had taken into account all possible mitigating factors to keep the overall sentence as low as I possibly could.
āI thought long and hard about the submissions in relation to Mrs Lavulavu and her being a mother of young children,ā Mr Justice Cooper said.
āI feel I am unable to lessen her sentence despite this. It could be argued that she deliberately put her childrenās wellbeing in jeopardy with her course of criminal behaviour; some might argue that was an aggravating feature to do so, I do not see it that way, but I do not lessen her sentence for that.
āBoth defendants were in this together and their sentences reflect this.ā
FAKAMATALA FAKATONGA
Kuo āi ai ha lipooti āo pehÄ kuo tangi āa e ongo Lavulavuā āi hona tautea ngÄue pÅpula taki taāu ono ka āo ka Ā hili pe taāu āe nima pea āe āatÄ āa Akosita āo maluāi angalelei ia āi hono toenga taāu āe tahaā āi ha toe taāu makehe āe ua āoua naāaā ne toe fakahoko ha hia ngÄue pÅpula. Taimi tatau āoku pehÄ āe he lipooti ko āeni āa e VPON āoku kole āa e ongo loea maāa āEtuate mo Akositaā ke peila pe tÄuhi kinaua ki tuāa ke tali ai āena tangiā. Ne na āosi kole peila ki muāa ke faka’atÄ ‘a ‘ena fefolau’aki he ‘otu motu’ mo Tongatapu’ hili hono fakahalaiaāi kinauaā pea naāe āikai tali ia āe he fakamaauāangaā. Ko e anga āeni e lau āa e lao āa Tongaā ki he meāa ko e peila āo fakatatau ki he kupu 4B āo e lao peilaā. āE āatÄ ki ha taha kuo tautea ke ngÄue pÅpula tuāunga haāane faihia ka kuo ne tangi āi hono tauteaā ke ne kole ki he fakamaauāangaā ke peila pe tÄuhi ia ki tuāa kae āoua leva ke mahino āene tangiā. Ka āe makatuāunga pe hano tali āo e kole peilaā āokapau āe fiemÄlie āa e fakamaauāangaā Ā ngali āe āi ai āa e faingamÄlie āuhinga lelei ke ikuna ai āa e tangi āoku faiā, pe ngalingali ko e tangiā āe āikai fakahoko leva ki muāa hano ngÄueāi kakato pe konga lahi āo e tauteaā pea āoku āi ai āa e tui mÄlohi ka tuku ange ki tuāa āa e pÅpulaā āe foki pe āiate ia ki he kau polisiā hala ke ne toe fai ha hia lolotonga hono peila ia ki tuāa. Fekauāaki mo ha tangi āi ha tautea kuo āosi fakahoko āe tokoni āa e fakatamala ko āeni ki ai. Naāe tangi foki āa e Tongasat mo Pilinisesi Pilolevu āi he 2019 hili āa hono fakahÄ āe he Fakamaau lahi āaho ko iaā kuo na halaia ki hono maāu taāetotonu āa e paāanga $90 miliona Tonga āa e puleāangaā. āI he tangi ko āeniā naāe fakamahino ai kuopau ke āi ai ha fakamoāoni foāou mo mahuāinga pea ko e fakamoāoni foāou ko ia naāe teāeki āo hake Ā iaā lolotonga e hopo ne iku fakahalaiaāi ai āa e pilinisesi mo āene kautahaā kae lava ke tali āa e kole ke toe vakaiāi āe he fakamaauāanga tangi āa e tangi āoku faiā. Ko e fakamoāoni foāou leva ne taku āe he Tongasat ko e pehÄ kuo nau toki maāu hili enau halaiaā Ā ko ha fuakava āa Looti Matoto mo Sunia Fili, āAholotu Palu pea mo Dr āAisake Eke. Naāe pehÄ leva āe he fakamaauāanga tangi āe tali pe ka ko ha fakamoāoni mÄtuāaki foāou āeni āi he āuhinga pe āe taha kapau naāe faingataāa fau ke lava maāu āa e fakamoāoni ko āeni lolotonga āa e hopo ne fakahalaiaāi ai āa e Tongasat mo e pilinisesi. Kae hili āenau vakai ki ai naāe pehÄ āe he kau fakamaau tangi, ko e fakamoāoni ko āeni kuo fakahÅ« ange āe he Tongasat mo Pilolevu naāe hala āatÄ ke toki maāu pe he hili āa e hopoā. Ko e fakamatala āa e kau fakamoāoni ko āeni ne āosi āi ai pe ia āi he 2008 mo e 2011 pea naāe āi Tonga pe kau tangata ko āeni ke nau omi ki fale hopo āo fakamatala ai ki heāenau fuakava lolotonga e lele āa e āuluaki hopoā. Pea naāe āikai ha meāa fakalao āe taha ke ne taāofi kinautolu ke nau fakamoāoni he hopo ko iaā. Ko ia ai ne āikai tali ia ke fakahoko āa e tangi ko iaā. āI hono fakahoa āeni ki he tangi āa e ongo Lavulavu āe āikai mamaāo āa e makatuāunga ko āeniā mei aiā. Kuopau ke fakahÅ« atu āe he ongo Lavulavu āa āena fakamatala mo ha fakamoāoni mÄtuāaki foāou āaupito ke sio ki ai āa e fakamaauāanga tangiā. Pea kapau te nau tali āa e ngaahi moāoniāi meāa foāou ko iaā pea āe tali leva ke nau hoko atu ki ha hopo tangi. Pea ka āikai Ā fiemÄlie kau fakamaau tangi Ā ki he ngaahi moāoniāi meāa kuo fokotuāu atu ke fai ai ha hopo tangi, pea ko āene levelevaā ia.
