Nuku’alofa, Tonga — A Kolovai man who struck a teenager in the face with a rock, leaving him with severe facial injuries and lost teeth, has been sentenced to imprisonment, though spared immediate jail.
The Supreme Court heard that Sione Tai So‘afa, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of serious causing bodily harm following a late-night beachside assault at Samaletane Beach in September 2025.
The 19-year-old victim suffered significant facial trauma, including swelling, bruising, lacerations, and dental loss, after being hit in the face with a rock before being punched while lying defenceless on the ground.
Alcohol-fuelled confrontation
The incident occurred around 10pm on 19 September 2025, when both the defendant and the complainant, along with their separate groups, had been drinking alcohol.
Court documents show the groups later gathered together at the beach, where tensions escalated amid fears the complainant and another individual would be assaulted. A fight broke out, but the defendant initially withdrew.
However, about 20 minutes later, So‘afa returned to the parking area armed with a rock.
As the complainant approached, So‘afa struck him in the face with the rock, knocking him to the ground. He then continued the assault, punching the victim while he lay defenceless before fleeing the scene.
The victim was transported to Vaiola Hospital for treatment.
Retaliatory and disproportionate
In sentencing on 6 May 2026, Lord Chief Justice Malcolm Bishop described the attack as serious and deliberate, noting the defendant had time to reflect before returning with a weapon.
“This was not meaningfully provoked,” the Chief Justice said, finding the violence to be retaliatory and disproportionate.
The court emphasised the dangerous nature of the attack, particularly the use of a rock as a weapon and the continuation of the assault after the victim had fallen.
Sentence suspended
The court adopted a starting point of two years’ imprisonment, reduced to 15 months after allowing for mitigating factors, including So‘afa’s early guilty plea, lack of previous convictions, cooperation with police, and expressions of remorse.
Despite the seriousness of the offending, the sentence was fully suspended for two years, taking into account the defendant’s youth, good character, and prospects for rehabilitation.
The court ordered that he serve 12 months’ probation, complete alcohol and drug awareness programmes, undertake 80 hours of community service, and comply fully with probation supervision requirements.
The court warned that any breach of conditions could result in So‘afa being required to serve the full 15-month prison sentence.
The judgment reinforced that violence involving weapons carries a high risk of imprisonment, even for first-time offenders.
However, in this case, the court found the offending arose from alcohol-fuelled poor judgment rather than entrenched criminal behaviour, allowing for a rehabilitative approach.
