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Investigation report on Tongan passport scandal to “be completed soon”

By
Kalino Latu
-

An investigation in Tonga on alleged illegal activities over Tongan passport will be completed and soon released to the public, the kingdom’s Chief Secretary and Secretary to Cabinet Dr Palenitina Langa’oi said.

Dr Langa’oi was responding to a question from Kaniva News asking for when precisely the date the report on the investigation be released after she said in a meeting in Auckland last month that it would be released soon.

“The Ministry of Police is still working on the case.  It is hoped that the investigation will be completed soon”, she said.

Dr Langa’oi has asked the Police Commissioner which was cc’d in her email of response to Kaniva to clarify the situation but we have not received any response from Steve Caldwell at the time of this report.

“I am copying this email to the Police Commissioner for his assistance and further clarifications please”, Dr Langoʻi’s email read.

Meanwhile trials over Tongan passport forgery were set to start on September 12.

Sione ‘Ahohako, Sioeli Heleta, Ola Feauna Tameifuna and ‘Isikeli Kaumavae will appear at the Supreme Court facing with forgery, receiving bribery and other related charges regarding an application for Tongan passport.

The accused worked at the Ministry of Justice when they allegedly committed these offences.

There were other pending cases over the passport scandal which were expected to be dealt with court soon.

Investigation

The issue of the Tongan passport had been raised during Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva state visit to New Zealand last month.

New Zealand Prime Minister said New Zealand has real concerns about what effectively in one sense are legitimate passports but they’re being used illegitimately.

“We’ve had assurances from Tonga that they’re dealing with the issue, he says some of it obviously predates his government and he’s addressing it,” John Key said of Tonga’s Prime Minister.

The Tongan government set up a Police task force to investigate Tonga’s passport scandal after it considered that a Royal Commission to investigate the scandal was costly.

The taskforce investigation had so far made more than 10 arrests including confiscating a laptop of Tonga’s former Prime Minister and current Speaker of the House Lord Tu’ivakano.

READ MORE:

Auditor general: Passport scandals involved PM’s office

Former police officer, 63, arrested over Tongan passport forgery

Auditor general: Passport scandals involved PM’s office

Tonga and Poland sign diplomatic ties

By
Kaniva Staff
-

The kingdom of Tonga and the Republic of Poland have signed an agreement of diplomatic relation in New York.

Mr. Mahe’uli’uli Sandhurst Tupouniua represented the Kingdom of Tonga while the government of the Republic of Poland was represented by Ambassador Bogusław Winid in signing the agreement.

“In the last two years, Poland established diplomatic relations with Nauru, Kiribati, Micronesia and Tuvalu.

“These Pacific island states are particularly exposed to negative effects of climate change.

“Poland looks forward to ever closer cooperation with the Kingdom of Tonga, also within the UN, among other things on the implementation of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” a statement by the Polish foreign ministry said.

In 1939, after the German invasion of Poland, the Kingdom of Tonga was among the first to declare war against Germany. Subsequently, in a public fundraiser the society of Tonga funded two Spitfire fighter aircraft. The kingdom was ruled at that time by queen Sālote Tupou III. (rg)

Tongan printer wins Pacific leader award

By
Philip Cass
-

Print Apprentice of the Year Sione Tonga won the Pacific Leader award at The Edge Got a Trade? Got it Made! Future Business Leader’s Awards this month.

Tonga completed his print apprenticeship at the end of last year and is now a senior printer at Stratex NZ.

The awards event celebrates the achievements of young New Zealanders working in trades and services.

“I didn’t expect to win, but I was really happy and honoured to be chosen,” Tonga said.

“It means a lot to my family

“My goal is to one day become a manager running a department.

“It is every Pacific teenager’s dream to become a boss in a company, starting with nothing to become something.”

The judges said Tonga had “an amazing work ethic” and had made a number of positive changes in his life through his personal and professional development.

Stratex NZ Print Manager Ross Halliday said Tonga was a hard worker who deserved everything he had achieved.

Tonga finished his print apprenticeship last year, and has just started a Diploma in Print Industry Management (Level 5).

When not working, the 33 years-old father of three is passionate about music.

“Before becoming a printer, the only thing I knew I was good at was singing,” he told the industry web site gotatrade.co.nz.

“I took opera singing lessons while in high school back in Tonga so that I could be the lead singer when I was just 13-years-old. Now I am the lead tenor in a choir of around 200 members.”

The awards were held as part of a forum bringing together New Zealand’s future business leaders for Got a Trade Week, the national campaign to raise awareness of the careers that exist in 140 trades and services in New Zealand.

The main points

  • Print Apprentice of the Year Sione Tonga won the Pacific Leader award at The Edge Got a Trade? Got it Made! Future Business Leader’s Awards this month.
  • Tonga completed his print apprenticeship at the end of last year and is now a senior printer at Stratex NZ.
  • “I didn’t expect to win, but I was really happy and honoured to be chosen,” Tonga said.
  • “It means a lot to my family.”

For more information

Print Apprentice of the Year wins Pacific award

Sione Tonga

Tongans named over drug bust face charges of possession and importing meth

By
Philip Cass
-

Three Tongans have been charged in New Zealand’s biggest drug bust.

They are  Ulakai Fakaosilea , Amoki Matoto Fonua  and Malachi Damien Tuilotolava.

Fakaosilea and Fonua have been charged with importing/exporting and possession for supply.

Tuilotolava has been charged with importing/exporting, possession for supply, participating in an organised criminal group and money laundering.

Tongan Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva  told Parliament when he returned to Tonga after his state visit to New Zealand that he had been told a number of Tongans were involved in the drug deal.

The three Tongans were among six men arrested on Ninety Mile Beach and at Totara North in June. They have been remanded, without plea, to November 9.

Northland Police seized 494kg of methamphetamine, estimated to be worth half a billion dollars.

They were led to the haul after a boat was abandoned on the beach.

It appears the men had been trying to re-launch the boat, offering large sums of money to locals for their help.

It is believed they had recovered the drugs from the sea.

Police later found another boat and a stash of drugs buried in the sand.

ABC news in Australia described the arrests as the result of “bungling boating by a group of landlubber drug smugglers.”

The main points

  • Three Tongans have been charged in New Zealand’s biggest drug bust.
  • They are Ulakai Fakaosilea, Amoki Matoto Fonua  and Malachi Damien Tuilotolava.
  • Fakaosilea and Fonua have been charged with importing/exporting and possession for supply.
  • Tuilotolava has been charged with importing/exporting, possession for supply, participating in an organised criminal group and money laundering.

For more information

Men connected with Northland meth bust named

New Zealand police make record drug bust after alleged smugglers bungle boat launch

More meth found in record drug bust

New Australian catamaran ferry will cut travel time to outer islands to nine hours

By
Philip Cass
-

The Friendly Islands Shipping Agency (FISA) has introduced a catamaran to run passenger-only services to the kingdom’s outer islands.

The new ferry is expected to cut the travel time to Vava’u and the outer islands from 24 hours to nine hours. It will begin operations this week.

The new ferry was commissioned in a ceremony at the Queen Salote Wharf No. 3 yesterday by Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister-in-Charge, Lord Ma’afu, Cabinet Ministers and Government officials including the shared Board of Directors for Transport Sector, FISA and Ports Authority Tonga.

In his speech, the Crown Prince  said the safety and security of people had to take precedence before any other economic considerations.

His Royal Highness thanked the Government of Tonga, for ensuring that the transportation needs for the people has been made a priority.

He also welcomed the vessel’s Australian owner, Captain Cook Cruises for sharing their expertise with the people of Tonga.

The government is paying TP$10,000 a day to hire the Australian catamaran.

The shipping agency’s CEO, Mr Mosese Fakatouhe, said the MV Magggie Cat would provide a temporary service to fill in for the MV ‘Otuanga’ofa which is undergoing service and repair in Fiji.

M.V. ‘Otuanga’ofa has been out of action for four months.

The main points

  • The Friendly Islands Shipping Agency (FISA) has introduced a catamaran to run passenger-only services to the kingdom’s outer islands.
  • The new ferry is expected to cut the travel time to Vava’u and the outer islands from 24 hours to nine hours.
  • It will begin operations this week.

For more information 

Australian ferry to temporarily replace M.V. ‘Otuanga’ofa

Crown Prince Commission new inter-island ferry transport

Search called off, no trace of missing man

By
Kaniva Staff
-

The search for the missing 20-year-old man from Houma who went missing at the village’s blowholes, has now been called off.

Police and locals were searching after Melekisēteki Fīnau fell into the sea at Houma Sunday 21.

A Police patrol boat was at the scene shortly after the incident but despite searching over nine days no sign has been found of the missing man.

Man’s use of machete to defend himself and protect his brother was reasonable, court told

By
Philip Cass
-

The Supreme Court has acquitted a man of causing serious bodily harm.

Salesi Makafilia appeared before the Hon. Justice Cato in the Supreme Court at the beginning of this month charged with having caused grievous bodily harm to a man with a machete during a fight outside his home.

Hon. Justice Cato reserved his decision.

The fight began about 2am on August 21 last year when Makafilia  e that group of men had been chasing his brother, Lautaimi.

Makafilia took his machete and went outside his house to disperse the group of about six or seven young men who had gathered there. Two of them the men in the crowd began throwing rocks at him. One of the men, Mosese Piutau, also punched Makafilia several times. He then struck Piutau, cutting his arm and chest.

Makafilia said he was sorry he had hurt him.

Makafilia’s lawyer argued that his client was entitled to claim self defence and that he was acting to protect his brother, who he felt was in danger.

Hon. Justice Cato said he accepted that Makafilia honestly believed that his actions were necessary.

Even though Piutau had been cut, these were not life threatening injuries.

“I am  unable  to  say  beyond  reasonable  doubt  that his   use   of  the   machete   to   inflict   the   injuries   he  did  for   the purpose    of   dispersing    the    group    was    unreasonable    or    an excessive,  or disproportionate  use of force,” Hon. Justice Cato said.

Makafilia was then acquitted and discharged.

The main points

  • The Supreme Court has acquitted a man of causing serious bodily harm.
  • Salesi Makafilia was charged with having caused grievous bodily harm to Mosese Piutau with a machete during a fight outside his home.
  • The fight began in the early hours of August 21 last year when Makafilia learned that a group of men had been chasing his brother, Lautaimi.
  • Justice Cato said he accepted that Makafilia honestly believed that his actions were necessary.

Kava is “pure” and without it Tongan values are worthless, Health Minister tells conference

By
Kalino Latu
-

Without kava, Tongan cultural and social values were worthless, the kingdom’s Health Minister said.

Dr Saia Piukala told Kaniva News last weekend that in Tonga kava made a difference in people’s lives, regardless of whether they were the king or a commoner.

He said that within the Tongan context, kava was something pure because of its role in culture and society.

Dr Piukala was talking to Kaniva News about a paper he read at the Pasifika Medical Health 20th Anniversary in Auckland last week in which the question was raised about whether kava was “cure or killer.”

The theme of the conference was “Pathway to leadership is Service”.

He said cultural values had to be part of a nation’s leadership.

His paper stressed the importance of kava on “cultural values”, “social values” and “no values.”

He said without kava the Tongan cultural and social values were worth nothing.

King Tupou VI could not have become king if he had not accepted and drunk the first kava cup served to him on his appointment day.

In Tongan this is known as “fua-kava” (first kava) which also means a covenant showing the king culturally accepted his role for the nation.

The matāpule told the king before he drank the first kava that it represented the fonua (nation) and the people for him to look after.

“If the king did not accept and drink his first kava he would not become the king,” Dr Piukala said.

“It is the same thing when we come to a wedding when the bride has to drink her first kava to show her acceptance of her husband.”

“The same thing goes to the nobility and most of the religious positions. It would not officially be announced that people hold the posts until they have drunk their first kava.”

Dr Piukala said kava in the Tongan context was “pure.”

“Kava brings the community together,” the Minister said.

At a social level in the villages everyone knew where to sit in the kava circle.

“So it helps tell the identity of everyone in the villages and we have seen how this has worked well in formulating a good society for a long, long times,” he said.

If there was any dispute among young people or families that was hard to solve, the elderly turned to kava and brought all the parties for a fakalelei (reconciliation).

Dr Piukala said he raised the cultural context in Tonga because he believed kava has done far more advantage than disadvantage.

He said most of the fundraising in  which millions of dollars was sent to Tonga from overseas for churches, scholarships and community buses, came through kava fundraising.

“Without those kava clubs raising these funds we would not know how all these millions of money could be donated,” Dr Piukala said.

Dr Piukala said he believed there was a bad side of the kava, but that only came when it was abused.

Some kava drinkers drank too much and could not wake up in the morning to go to work. People like this slept all day and drank kava at night.

He rejected one of the papers read to the conference that claimed kava caused liver problems to Fijian kava drinkers.

He said the claim lacked scientific proof and did not reflect the situation among Tonga’s kava drinkers.

The main points

  • Without kava, Tongan cultural and social values were worthless, the kingdom’s Health Minister said.
  • Dr Saia Piukala told Kaniva News last weekend that in Tonga kava made a difference in people’s lives, regardless of whether they were the king or a commoner.
  • He said that within the Tongan context, kava was something pure because of its role in culture and society.
  • “Kava brings the community together,” the Minister said.

Bootless Fekitoa keeps playing as All Blacks head for 29-9 win over Australia

By
Philip Cass
-

Tongan-born All Blacks centre Malakai Fekitoa spent part of his time on the field on Saturday night playing with just a sock on his left foot after Australian player Nick Phipps stole his boot.

Fekitoa kept playing until a trainer could retrieve his boot, which Phipps had thrown off the field.

Phipps ripped off the boot during the second half of the game after tackling the Tongan.

Despite Phipps’ assault, the All Blacks won 29-9 in the second game of the Bledisloe Cup.

Some commentators have suggested that Phipps could have been penalised for violating World Rugby law 10.4 (m), which says that “A player must not do anything that is against the spirit of good sportsmanship in the playing enclosure.”

The All Blacks and the Wallabies will play the final Bledisloe Cup match at Eden Park on October 22.

Phipps plays for the Waratahs in the Super Rugby competition.

Fekitoa was born in Ha’apai, Tonga in 1992. In 2009, during a visit to New Zealand, he gained a rugby scholarship and enrolled at Wesley College.

He made his debut for Auckland in the ITM Cup in 2012 and was signed by the Blues for the 2013 season. He then signed for the Highlanders for the 2014 Super Rugby season.

The Tongan centre was selected for the All Blacks squad for the June 2014 test series against England and made his debut as a replacement player in first test of that series.

The main points

  • Tongan-born All Blacks centre Malakai Fekitoa spent part of his time on the field on Saturday night playing with just a sock on his left foot after Australian player Nick Phipps stole his boot.
  • Fekitoa kept playing until a trainer could retrieve his boot, which Phipps had thrown off the field.
  • Phipps ripped off the boot during the second half of the game after tackling the Tongan.
  • Despite Phipps’ assault, the All Blacks won 29-9 in the second game of the Bledisloe Cup.

For more information

Nick Phipps caught on camera ripping off and throwing away Malakai Fekitoa’s boot

What are you doing mate? (TBNZ video)

Aussie throws Fekitoa’s boot into crowd

Tongan girl with enormous tumour undergoes surgery in Melbourne

By
Kaniva Staff
-

A young Tongan girl with an enormous tumour on the left side of her jaw has had her face rebuilt by charitable Melbourne surgeons using the fibula bone in her leg.

Pulei Latu, 19, underwent radical surgery on Friday to remove the rapidly-growing benign tumour near her cheek – which was affecting her speech and had already deformed parts of her mouth and teeth.

‘Sometimes I look in the mirror, and yeah, I think it’s grown bigger,’ Ms Latu told 7 News before the surgery.

‘It’ll be good because they change mine (sic) to my normal face.’

Tumour girl 1
An x-ray of Ms Latu’s face (right) reveals the enormous size of the rapidly-growing tumour, which was affecting her speech and had already deformed parts of her mouth and teeth

The teenager’s life-changing surgery was sponsored by Children First Foundation, an organisation that helps children in serious medical need from developing countries.

It took five surgeons eight hours to reconstruct her face, with one team working on removing the bone from her leg and another team removing the tumour and resculpting her jaw.

Ms Latu, who has dreams of being an accountant, will spend the next week recovering in the general ward of Cabrini Hospital, Melbourne, before returning to Children First’s ‘Miracle sMiles retreat’ for post surgery care.

She will then fly home to Tonga to begin life without the physical and emotional trauma of a tennis-ball sized tumour stuck to the side of her face.

–Daily Mail

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