A 21-year-old man was found dead of a gunshot wound on Saturday morning at Haʻakame, Tongan Police said.
They responded to a call regarding a man who was found dead in a plantation.
Upon arrival at the scene, they found the body of a man who apparently died of gunshot wound to his body.
The victim, who was initially found by a family member, was lying on the ground under a tree with a .22 rifle on his lap.
Given the circumstances surrounding his death, Police suspected it was suicidal.
A daughter of a former Tongan Police minister died after she fell from a moving vehicle Friday 17 in Kolomotu’a.
26-year-old Monalisa Tūʻutafaiva ‘Iongi was in a vehicle driven by her husband, 27, on the night of the incident at Hihifo rd near Telekava cemetery.
She was the daughter of Sifa Tūʻutafaiva, Tonga’s former Police Minister who is now working as a lawyer.
The husband was released on bail on Saturday 18 after he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
Police investigation continues.
The family of Taʻelata Mōleni who was killed in Auckland on Saturday 18 have released a photo of him taken few hours before he died.
The photo was photographed at his father’s house and it showed he wore a red sweater and a beanie.
The deceased older brother Talāsinga Mōleni said Taʻelata may have been mistaken for gang member and that the red sweater he wore as appeared in the photo may have been his asssailants’ motive.
The 42-year old man from Niutōua died while he was walking home along the Bernard St in the Auckland suburb of Mt Wellington.
Talāsinga said neither Taʻelata nor their brothers he was with at the time of his death are connected to any gangs.
Ta’elata was in the area after he went with his young brothers to a kava fundraising at a nearby residence.
The fundraising was organised by the Tongan kava drinkers and friends in the area to donate some money for Taʻelata as he was about to leave for Tonga next Tuesday, Talāsinga said.
Taʻelata arrived in Auckland two months ago to visit his father.
He left the fundraising and it was not long before someone alerted the kava drinkers and told them that Taʻelata was dead, Talāsinga said.
The crime scene was just two residences away from his father’s house.
Yesterday Police said they were looking for a group of men that were in connection to his death.
They believed there were at least four men involved in the initial altercation with the victim. They are said to be aged in their late teens and early twenties.
Talāsinga said he believed the perpetrators could have gang link with Black Power and they probably thinking his brother was Mongrel Mob.
The Black Power, which is associated with blue clothing, has a patch in Mt Wellington near where the incident occured.
The gang’s fierce rival, the Mongrel Mob, wears red.
In 2010 a 4-year-old boy at Bay of Plenty was assaulted by a Black Power member for wearing a red shirt.
The assault on the preschooler in a Whakatane park had drawn widespread condemnation from the public.
Police are hunting for four young men who were involved in a violent altercation with a 42-year-old Tongan man who was found dead in Auckland early this morning.
Talāsinga Mōleni of Niutōua and Nukuleka has told Kaniva News his young brother Taʻelata Mōleni was killed in Mt Wellington, Saturday 18.
Detective Senior Sergeant Colin Higson said Police and Ambulance were called to the Bernard Street address at about 12.20am to a report of public disorder.
Upon arrival the victim was found unconscious. He was immediately given first aid but died shortly after.
A scene examination is underway and a post mortem examination will be conducted later today.
Police are looking for a group of men that were involved in the initial disorder reported.
It is believed there were at least four men involved in the initial altercation with the victim. They are said to be aged in their late teens and early twenties.
“We want to talk to the people involved as they would be in the best position to tell us what happened and why.”
“We also appeal to any witnesses or anybody who has information about this incident and those involved to contact Police,” said Mr Higson.
Anyone with information can contact Counties Manukau Police on 09 261 1300 or anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
A Tongan quantity surveyor (QS) in New Zealand has offered to help the government with the preparation to host the South Pacific Games 2019.
Siosiua ʻUmulovo Toki said he saw this as an opportunity to offer his skills as an independent QS in New Zealand and helps Tonga while it is struggling to find about TP$100 million to build the Games.
He was in Tonga recently after the Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pohiva agreed with his offer.
Toki said the government paid for his accommodation, food and transport while he was in Tonga for about a month.
However, he returned to New Zealand while the government was working to process his appointment and contract agreement.
He said they made contact after his return and the government required further documents including his CV.
The government has announced in Parliament early this week Tonga will still hold the Games.
The announcement came after the government of ʻAkilisi Pohiva told the Pacific Games Council last month it would welcome losing the Games if the council continued it intervention after the government sacked the head of the Games Orgnising Committee, Lord Sevele ʻO Vailahi.
While waiting for his appointment Toki sent a report to the Tongan government raising his concern about the situation of the Games preparation.
In his report Toki was concerned about the timing of the construction.
“As we all aware that the most issue now is the time and I think there is no room for error and talking too much, we need to act as fast as we can to move on and with my experience in construction industry in NZ for years we have to get all these tools that I referred to above to help the implementation of the project together with the team effort”, Toki said in his report.
Toki, a qualified quantity surveyor from Unitec, has about 30 years of experience in the construction industry in New Zealand.
“About the conversation in Auckland with PM that I come to Tonga and assist with the project because of my skills and experience in the construction industry in New Zealand and I’m proud to share that with the Tongan team to deliver the project for Tonga.
“It is vital to have such an experienced QS like me from overseas to help set out a starting point for this project because we run out of time.
“I got no doubt that I’m the right person to help with this project and with my experience as a quantity surveyor and project manager in NZ I can deliver this project to its budget, time and quality.
Toki said the work he did as a quantity surveyor would help reduce any possible mismanagement and overspending of the public funding allocated for the construction.
He said it looked like there was no qualified quantity surveyor in Tonga and the job was conducted by the Tongan architects and civil engineers.
“I understand that I will save millions for Tonga in this project that is why I want to help. I’m not new to this kind of work for the Tongan community in NZ and here in Tonga.
“ I have been self employed for almost 30 years in NZ and I want to share that experience with the local people”, he said.
The Noble MP Lord Tuʻilakepa said the increasing number of Tongan criminal deportees from overseas has become a matter of concern for him.
Tuʻilakepa has disclosed in Parliament on Tuesday that the deportees have caused a lot of problems in Tonga.
He claimed the Tongan criminals overseas were sent to Tonga because the foreign countries got the permission to do so from Tongan consuls in Australia, the United States, Hawaiʻi and in New Zealand.
His claim was instantly rejected by the Minister of Revenues Tēvita Lavemaau who said Tongan consuls overseas have nothing to do with the Tongan criminal deportees.
If they breached those nations’ laws and their crimes entitled them to a deportation it is entirely up to those countries to deport them and there was nothing to do with the Tongan offices overseas, Lavemaau said.
Tuʻikaepa said he got his information from retired and former Tongan consuls.
Analysts argued that the criminal deportees were contributing to an escalation of crime and high levels of violence in Tonga.
This including kidnapping, armed robbery and killing during robbery something the kingdom did not experience before the last two decades.
Last year in November it was reported that Patrick ʻUnga, who had received a life sentence for murdering his fiancé in New Zealand in 2003, killed again in Tonga only a few months after his deportation to Tonga two years ago.
He was sentenced to more than 12 years in jail for manslaughter after the death of Sitanilei Sime in Nuku’alofa in April 2014.
Last month two brothers Motekiai and John Taufahema were deported to Tonga from Australia after a court convicted and sent them to jail for the death of Glenn McEnallay, a Police constable in Sydney.
The Taufahemas served 11 years in prison.
McEnallay was shot three times in the head and the chest and he later died in hospital.
The ‘Ikaletahi Head Coach has named the starting lineup to take on Georgia this Saturday.
The two teams will meet for the first time since the World Cup 2015 loss in England in which Georgia defeated Tonga by 17-10.
The bench consists of two debutants Mikaele Mafi older brother of Japan Number 8 Amanaki Mafi and Wayne Ngaluafe.
The game will kick off at 12:45pm Fiji time at ANZ Stadium Suva, Fiji 18th June 2016.
The team:
| 1. Loosehead prop | Eddie | ‘Aholelei |
| 2. Hooker | Elvis | Taione |
| 3. Tightheadprop | Sione | Faletau |
| 4. Leftlock | Uili | Kolo’ofai |
| 5.Rightlock | Dan | Faleafa |
| 6. Left flanker | Nili | Latu (c) |
| 7. Right flanker | Jack | Ram |
| 8.Numbereight | Sione | Tau |
| 9. Scrum half | Tane | Takulua |
| 10. Flyhalf | Kali | Hala |
| 11. Leftwing | Pila | ʻIongi |
| 12. Leftcentre | Latiume | Fosita |
| 13. Rightcentre | Apakuki | Ma’afu |
| 14. Rightwing | Otulea | Katoa |
| 15.Fullback | Tevita | Halaifonua |
| 16. Front row | Kama | Sakalia |
| 17. Front row | Sione | Anga’aelangi |
| 18. Front row | Sila | Puafisi |
| 19. | Opeti | Fonua |
| 20. | Mikaele | Mafi |
| 21. | Wayne | Ngaluafe |
| 22. | Viliami | Hakalo |
| 23. | Taniela | Kilioni |
The Health Promotion Forum of New Zealand Runanga Whakapiki Ake I Te Hauora o Aotearoa (HPF) has won the bid to host a world health promotion conference in New Zealand in 2019.
The win was announced on May 27 (NZ time) at the closing ceremony of the 22nd world health promotion conference of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) that was held on May 22-27 in Curitiba, Brazil.
“We won because of the guidance and support of our nation’s leaders. IUHPE also saw that New Zealand is willing and able to contribute in leading ways to the major global challenges that the world community faces such as the health of the planet and its peoples,” says HPF Executive Director Sione Tu‘itahi.
IUHPE is an international organisation that leads the on-going advancement of health promotion in the world. HPF is the umbrella body for health promotion organisations in New Zealand. HPF is a member of IUHPE.
For further information, contact Sione Tu’itahi at sione@hauora.co.nz: mobile 0276659939
