A former Senior Customs Officer who was jailed for six years imprisonment has died in prison.
Paula Naitoko. Photo/Facebook
Paula Naitoko, 69, was sentenced on 21 October to six-years for importing a substantial amount of methamphetamine and firearms, concealed in a box from the United States in 2019
He was found guilty in the Supreme Court of importing 6662 grams of methamphetamine worth of TOP$1 million.
Naitoko, who was nearing retirement age, was also found guilty of trying to smuggle guns and ammunition into the country.
COMMENTARY: As China and the United State struggle for dominance in the Pacific, it seems that the people of Tonga are not satisfied with anything the big powers do.
People in Tonga waiting to go aboard the Chinese Navy Hospital Ship, the Peace Ark docked at Vuna Wharf. Photo/’Elaiakimi Kolomalu
As we reported recently, the United States has made a major effort to court the smaller Pacific Islands with the re-establishment of embassies and the re-emergence of the Peace Corps.
High ranking visits by US officials such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and meetings with the Tongan government have signalled a willingness to re-engage diplomatically. And yet some Tongans are not so happy about the newly US embassy in Nuku’alofa because an immigration service has yet to be established. People still have to travel to Fiji to file their application which costs them a lot.
Perhaps they should be patient and see what services are actually provided before being critical.
Meanwhile, Tongans have been able to see a very visible expression of China’s efforts in the presence of the Chinese navy medical ship Peace Ark at Vuna wharf on Friday. While her tour of the Pacific will have been planned long ago, it was interesting that she arrived just after the visit by the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who criticised China’s activities in the Pacific.
Our photo was taken at the Vuna wharf and shows Tongans waiting to go on for medical assistance. People from all over Tongatapu and the outer islands travelled to see the Chinese health professionals.
The sight of so many Tongans gathering in peace to welcome the Chinese (and no doubt because they really needed their medical assistance) should not disguise the fact that there has been ongoing resistance and resentment against the presence of the Chinese in Tonga since they started arriving three decades ago.
The scandal of the corrupt sale of passports and the 2006 Nuku’alofa riots were just the worst expressions of this resentment. However, the Chinese are working hard in Tonga to help the economy. Should they only receive such unwelcoming treatment and violence?
In 2015 the late Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pōhva told an audience in Auckland that Tongans should copy the Chinese. This is what we wrote at the time:
“Hon. Pōhiva told the audience he regarded those Chinese who lived in the kingdom as Tongans. He said there was no choice but to treat the Chinese as brothers and sisters. Hon. Pōhiva said Tongans should copy Chinese lifestyles and standard of living as their hard working attitude would help Tonga’s economy. He said the Chinese went to bed late at night, but were the first to get to work in the morning while some Tongans spent all night drinking kava and sleeping the next day.”
Perhaps the late Prime Minister’s vision will take a while to become reality. He certainly became concerned later on at how deeply in debt to China Tonga had become and the enormous effect paying off the debt would have on the economy.
One wonders whether concerns about the serious health issues in Tonga could be used by the Chinese Communist Party as a political tool to change the Tongan mindset about its people. Tongan people are top on the world list of countries which are unhealthy. The reality, however, is that Tonga benefits from these visits, at least in the short term.
The last time the Peace Ark was in the kingdom was on its 2018-2019 voyage when it visited Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga before sailing to the Caribbean and Central America. Medical staff saw 50,884 patients and performed 288 operations on the voyage. The Peace Ark was launched in 2007 and is known as the Daishan Dao when operating in a navy role.
The Royal Australian Navy journal Semaphore described the visits by navy hospital ships as ‘Medical diplomacy.’ This means they are used to improve their country’s image on the international scene by providing medical care to those in need.
Semaphore quoted the Peace Ark’s then commanding officer, Rear Admiral Bao Yuping, as saying the ship visited less-developed nations to help people in desperate need and let the local people ‘know more about China, the Chinese military and Chinese navy’ thereby executing a vital medical diplomacy mission.
It should also be borne in mind that the United States Navy is also playing its part in hospital ship diplomacy. In March the US Navy agreed to a request by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to have its hospital ship, USNS Mercy, dock in Honiara during the November 2023 Pacific Games.
It seems that both sides will continue to use floating hospitals to prove what good friends they are to the Pacific Islands for some time to come.
A rugby league player has been jailed for two years after he raped a child he met after securing a job as an unqualified teacher’s aide.
Viliami Teukava Fakavamo Paki, 24, moved from New Zealand to Emerald in Queensland‘s Central Highlands where he signed with QRL club the Mackay Cutters in 2018.
Mackay District Court heard that an injury forced him to leave the sport the following year. He found work at a school in the region where he met his victim despite not having any teaching qualifications, The Daily Mercury reports.
Paki plead not guilty to digital rape and indecent treatment of a child charges, but a jury disagreed, finding him guilty of four counts of rape on Thursday.
He was acquitted on the indecent treatment of a child charge.
A conviction was recorded which would usually require him to be deported under the Migration Act for failing the ‘good character’ test.
But Paki could be allowed to stay in Australia, according to his defence barrister, who said the government would take into account how long he had lived in the country and the seriousness of his crimes.
The court heard the offending occurred over two months in 2020 and that Paki only stopped when other women his own age started ‘showing interest in him’.
There were no threats of violence or drugs and alcohol involved.
Judge Michael Byrne said the offending had ‘intruded into the normal upbringing of a (young) girl’.
He said Paki had formed the idea the offending was not predatory in part due to ‘immaturity’.
‘The jury accepted you digitally penetrated her on four occasions,’ Judge Byrne said.
The 24-year-old was sentenced to four years jail and will serve two years behind bars with the remaining two years suspended.
MP Piveni Piukala has defended his proposed motion of no confidence in the Hu’akavameiliku government, saying the government’s financial record justified the move.
MP Piveni Piukala (L), Setita Tu’i’onetoa
In an interview with Facebook livestream programme Radio Television Tonga International (RTTI) Piukala said the government had failed to “aggressively address” the deficit budget.
He said the solution for a deficit budget was to reduce expenses, but this had not been the case. In the previous budget the government’s travelling allowance was budgeted at TP$13 million, but grew to TP$21 million.
Hon. Piukala claimed this was unlawful because the law said the government could only make an increase of 10 percent, or TP$1.3 million. Instead the government increased it by TP$8 million. Piukala described the situation as a crisis currently faced by the nation.
He said there were complaints about the problems with roads, but TP$27 million had been spent on them. He was referring to the former government’s controversial roading project, which is still being dealt with by the Hu’akavameiliku’s government.
During the interview, RTTI owner and journalist Setita Tu’i’onetoa told Hon. Piukala many people did not think this was a time to move a no confidence vote motion because it could affect the economy of the country. She suggested it could stir up political unrest in the country and that the government should be given its remaining two more years to finish off their term.
Hon. Piukala responded by asking where Tu’i’onetoa obtained her facts and said she had given her audience a “misconception of what the reality is.”
He said it was his job as an elected MP to submit the vote of no confidence. He told Tu’i’onetoa her claims were different from the solid information he had.
Tu’i’onetoa told Piukala her source of information was from discussions on social media. She also asked Piukala to explain any failures and causes that would cause enough mistrust in the Hu’akavameiliku government to justify a vote of no confidence.
In response Piukala said, he has been on livestream programmes enough times to explain the failures of this government and he did not know what else he could do to explain it.
Tu’i’onetoa, a New Zealand-based PTOA (Democrat) supporter, was criticised on social media and accused of twisting the interview to look like a vote of no confidence vote was not supported. Other commentators stood by her.
Kaniva News has talked to two presidents of two separate PTOA chapters in New Zealand.
Vainikolo Tāufa, the president of the PTOA Auckland Aotearoa New Zealand, said he was unaware of any protest against the proposed vote of no confidence led by Hon. Piukala. He said his chapter fully supported the vote of no confidence.
Fetuli Aholahi, the president of the PTOA New Zealand said his chapter supported the move for the vote of no confidence. He said the Board of PTOA NZ also supported the move. The Board contains representatives from all PTOA chapters in New Zealand, he said.
In Tongan he said: “‘Oku lahi ‘a e ‘uhinga mei he kamata’anga pe e”. In English, he said they have enough evidence of issues of concern right from the beginning of this government to justify a vote of no confidence.
PTOA Kolope, which included members from the United States, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Tonga, has posted its support for the vote of the no confidence. It said the government’s issue with Lulutai airlines was one of its concerns.
A New Zealand national has been charged with attempting to import about 2kg of heroin in his luggage through Melbourne International Airport.
The man, 77, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday and was remanded in custody.
Australian Border Force officers (ABF) examined the man’s luggage after he had arrived on a flight from Thailand and allegedly found white powder in the lining of his suitcase.
The substance tested positive for heroin.
The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) detective acting superintendent Amanda Glover said the AFP works closely with its law enforcement partners to stop illicit drugs reaching Australian streets.
“Drug traffickers prey on our community, causing drug-related crime and the associated health and social costs,” she said.
“Every detection of drugs at the border keeps our community safer and ensure that drug traffickers cannot reap profits by preying on Australians.”
ABF superintendent Kelly-anne Parish said ABF officers are highly skilled and are always on alert to detect and stop the importation of illicit substances coming into Australia.
“Criminals will try to hide illicit drugs in a variety of ways, however no matter the amount of drugs that are hidden, big or small, our officers have the technology and expertise to find them,” she said.
“This is a good example of the real-time capabilities of our officers working at the border, 24 hours a day, to protect the Australian community from harmful drugs.
“The ABF and AFP work hard to protect the Australian community from the scourge of drugs and ensure airports are not part of the illicit supply chain.”
A composer who wrote one of the few acclaimed Tongan songs about the fatal sinking of the ill-fated Princess Ashika said he still stood by the lyrics of his song.
Tali Kinikini. Photo/Supplied
Tali Kinikini criticised the then government in his song for purchasing the doomed ferry which sank to the bottom of the ocean in August 5, 2009, killing 74 people. Only two bodies were recovered, with 72 missing including 68 passengers, four crew and five foreign nationals. Of the missing passengers, two remain unidentified.
The report of the Royal Commission into the disaster said the “evidence as to the unseaworthiness and appalling state of the vessel is overwhelming and compelling.”
The then government of Prime Minister Feleti Sevele was accused of showing a lack of any official due diligence in purchasing the ferry.
Kinikini said after the release of the song the Tonga Broadcasting Commission pulled it off air.
The broadcaster later asked him on the first anniversary of the tragedy to remove a line which said, in Tongan, the government was purchasing a coffin. Kinikini refused the request.
The TBC could not be reached for comment.
Some other strong words in the song included telling the government the victims and their families could not do anything after its bad decision to buy the 37-year-old, unseaworthy ferry.
The song poetically said these people decided to leave it to God to judge them, an usual Tongan curse which is the same as telling the accused they have yet to be judged here in the world, but will face a severe punishment from God.
It was a reference to some of the government leaders especially Prime Minister Sevele who was not taken to court over the disaster.
‘Ikai mea’i he pule’anga ni The government never knew
Ko e kofini e fu’u vaka ni It had purchased a coffin
To tau ai si’ono kakai It killed the government’s people
O fonualoto he kilisitahi And the ocean became their grave
Si’ete hanu ni tuku kia hai Oh who could hear my complaint
Kae taumaia ‘e toe mafai I have no control over it
A e ipu vai kuo mahua ni The cup has been spilled out
E toe lava hano tānaki It could not be collected
Tuku ai ā kia Satai Just leave it to Jehovah
E totongi ‘o ‘etau angafai To judge the decision we made
Kau tengihia pe mo te tangi While I lament and weep
I he hulufau hoku te’ia ni My smitten with the tragedy is overwhelming
‘Osi ‘eku tumu ho ta’e’ofa I am mystified by your unloving
E Pilinisesi ‘Asika Dear Princess Ashika
Ho’o puke tu’u ‘e te koloa’ You have held down my possession
He teau mita ‘o e moana Hundred metres under the ocean
E te mataika ‘ki he pupua’ I am seeing what I cannot possibly obtain
He manako maka ki Tofua Desiring to get what I cannot get from Tofua
Ikai ha ‘uta ‘ e hakea There is no escapable cliff
Te u vale au ia he ‘ofa I am overwhelmed with emotional love
Kinikini said he told the staff at the broadcaster the song was on YouTube and it was widely shared so he did not see why there was need to change his lyrics to suit their needs.
Kinikini said the song was later broadcast by the TBC.
A serial sex offender has been jailed for 13 years for sexually assaulting five victims ranged in age from 6 to their 40s.
David Allan Falamoe, 41, exploited the vulnerabilities of his victims, including a teenager, who he punched in the stomach when she told him she was pregnant, Stuff reported.
A woman in her 40s suffered increasingly degrading treatment. He had repeatedly asked for money until she had no more left to give.
A court adviser read the victim impact statements to Justice Francis Cooke during Falamoe’s sentencing at the High Court in Wellington on Friday.
The woman said she had cried a river over the wickedness he had put her through.
“I’m looking forward to better days, no more tears, just better days.”
The parents of the youngest victim called Falamoe scum for having indecently touched their 6-year-old daughter.
He was also found in the bed of a 9-year-old girl. He was caught before the girl woke. The girl’s mother said she was disgusted by what he did.
Falamoe pleaded guilty to a single charge of indecent assault and was found guilty of another two charges of rape, one of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, two of attempted sexual violation, compelling an indecent act with a dog, committing two indecent acts, assault with intent to injure, and assaulting a female.
He was sentenced to 13 years’ jail and has to serve at least five years and six months before being considered for parole.
The judge said the five victims ranged in age from 6 to their 40s. Falamoe identified vulnerabilities and tried to exploit them.
A woman said she was a teenager when she met Falamoe. She was kicked and punched and forced to have sex with him.
When she told him she was pregnant he punched her in the stomach. The woman said she had a miscarriage.
A victim, who Falamoe touched indecently, said he was a sick and evil person who had ruined the start of their adulthood.
The Crown had asked for Falamoe to be sentenced to preventive detention – an open-ended jail term. Prosecutor Michele Wilkinson-Smith said he had 65 previous convictions, including 29 for violence mainly against intimate partners.
He had not responded to previous sentences, had no insight and no remorse. Preventive detention would protect the community, she said.
But defence lawyer John Gwilliam said Falamoe had a traumatic past, including abuse in state care, and had seen his father die in front of him. He had no history of sexual offending and should be given the benefit of the doubt in choosing a finite jail term instead of preventive detention.
Falamoe said he was a victim of false allegations.
The judge said each of the victims was vulnerable in their own way, Falamoe would get close to them and use psychological and physical violence.
But the judge said he was unable to conclude Falamoe qualified for preventive detention based on the risk he would likely pose at the end of a finite prison term.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has criticised what he called China’s “predatory” economic policies in the Pacific, but Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said he was not concerned about Tonga’s debt to China.
Secretary Blinken made the comments on Wednesday during a visit to Nuku’alofa where he marked the opening of a new US embassy.
Tonga owes $150 million to China, the equivalent of about 25 per cent of its gross domestic product.
Hon. Sovaleni said he was not concerned about the large amount of money his country had borrowed from China and that Tonga had started to pay back the debt.
Blinken met with the Prime Minister other officials to discuss the bilateral relationship as well as regional and global issues, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
“President Biden is fully committed to working with Tonga, and with all Pacific Islands, to usher in an era of even closer collaboration to deliver on the issues that matter most to our people — rooted in mutual respect and mutual trust,” Blinken said.
The Prime Minister described Secretary Blinken’s visit as “historic.”
“It is the first visit by a sitting US Secretary of State to Tonga and the highest level visit we have received from the United States in our recent history,” he added.
“It is a clear indication to us of the desire and commitment by the United States to strengthen our relations. The United States and Kingdom of Tonga share a long-standing history and enduring partnership.”
Blinken said the United States did not object to nations in the region engaging with other countries, including China, but that there were concerns over Beijing’s “increasingly problematic behaviour.”
He accused China of asserting unlawful maritime claims, militarisation and investments that could undermine good governance and promote corruption.
Blinken also praised the return of Peace Corps volunteers, who left the island because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the opening of the US embassy underlined the strength of America’s commitment to the people of Tonga.
The embassy would allow Washington to deploy additional diplomatic personnel and resources, including the potential appointment of a resident ambassador to Tonga.
The United States has had diplomatic relations with the kingdom since 1972.
For more information
The U.S. dedicates a new embassy in Tonga in a bid for more influence in the Pacific
The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by Feleti Ulakai over a ruling dismissing allegations of bribery during an election made against Paula Piveni Piukala.
Paula Piveni Piukala. Photo/Kaniva Tonga
On February 13, 2023, Judge Cooper dismissed a petition brought by Feleti Ulakai, challenging the election of Paula Piveni Piukala on November 3, 2022. Mr Ulakai was also ordered to pay the costs.
Ulakai subsequently appealed against those orders.
The appeal was heard by Judges Randerson, White and Morrison.
Ulakai alleged that Piukala committed bribery under Section 21 of the Electoral Act, which states that Every person commits the offence of bribery who, directly or indirectly, by himself or by any other person on his behalf gives any money or valuable gift to or for any elector, or to or for any other person on behalf of any elector or to or for any other person, in order to induce any elector to vote or refrain from voting.
In their summary of the case, the judges said Ulakai had to prove beyond reasonable doubt that money or a valuable gift was given (or offered) by Piukala directly, or indirectly by someone on his behalf; the money or gift was given (or offered) to an elector, namely a registered voter; or to another person on behalf of a registered voter, or to someone else; and the money or gift was given (or offered) in order to induce a registered voter to vote or refrain from voting
Ulakai alleged the following specified acts constituting bribery had occurred:
Someone giving money on Piukala’s behalf to electors of Tokomololo, Pea and Ha’ateiho; and someone gave a gift such as groceries on Piukala’s behalf to electors of Tokomololo, Pea and Ha’ateiho.
Ulakai alleged that the money giving occurred in this way:
On September 20, 2022, at the residence of Mr Fevaleaki, prizes were announced for three people participating in a poetry competition;
On October 28, 2022, at Ha’ateiho, prizes were given for participants in a poetry competition;
The prizes for poetry competitions were, in each case, from sponsors and on September 17, at the Ha’ateiho Golf Club, the respondent gave an envelope of money to Tevita ‘Eli and a person called Pita.
On October 8, 2022, two women distributed groceries to older people at Ha’ateiho, including the home of Mamata Kohinoa.
Except in the case of the money given by Piukala’s himself at the Golf Club, all other acts were of things done indirectly on his behalf.
The judges said that Ulakai added nothing of substance to his affidavit in oral evidence.
No evidence had been presented to show that an attempt had been made to verify the claims or to speak to the people involved in order to ascertain what had happened.
Nor had any effort been made to find out whether the recipients of any prize money felt bribed or induced to vote in a particular way.
Much was made of unverified social media posts and video as evidence, but these did not in themselves prove the essential elements of the allegations.
There was evidence that the groceries had come from the charity St Vincent de Paul.
“This was a case based on circumstantial evidence,” the judges said.
“All the witnesses gave evidence based on what they saw after the event on videos or photos taken from the videos.
“With the exception of Mr Ulakai having been present when the groceries were given, no witness was actually present at any relevant time.
“No recipient of a money prize or gift was called, no sponsor of the poetry prizes was called, and the MC was not called. In fact, no evidence was given by any attendee at the poetry competitions.”
The challenge to the appeal was dismissed with costs against Ulakai.
A Tongan man in Saratoga Springs, Utah, has been charged with 25 counts of burglary in connection with a string of vehicle break-ins that occurred in Provo and Eagle Mountain last month.
Mosiah Vae Taumoepeau, 20, was arrested after he was found with stolen property from the break-ins, including Apple Airpods, credit cards, gift cards, and $1,000.
He reportedly admitted to deputies that he had burglarized over 10 vehicles and “lost track of time because there were so many.”
Taumoepeau was being held in Utah County Jail without bail.
Utah news media reported that Taumoepeau told deputies he was “just walking around with no real direction,” according to court documents. When asked for identification, he reportedly handed a deputy a phone and wallet that did not belong to him. He was then handcuffed and detained, according to court documents.
After being read his Miranda rights, Taumoepeau told deputies he was in the Ridley’s parking lot “hitting glass,” according to the affidavit. Deputies asked what he meant and he reportedly said “car burglaries.”
Taumoepeau told deputies his intent was not to break into vehicles — that he was going for a walk and decided to start breaking in when he arrived in the parking lot, according to the probable cause statement. He broke into “approximately” seven vehicles, according to court documents.
Taumoepeau is facing 25 charges, including:
Two counts of attempted burglary of a vehicle, a class B misdemeanor
Manufacture/possession of burglary tools, a class B misdemeanor
12 counts of burglary of a vehicle, a class A misdemeanor
Two counts of theft of a value less than $500, a class B misdemeanor
Five counts of unlawful acquire/posses/transfer of financial card, a third degree felony
Unlawful possession of ID, a third degree felony
Property damage/destruction of less than $500, a class B misdemeanor
