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Elderly woman, Susana Tonga, killed in US fire

By
Kalino Latu
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An elderly woman died in a house fire in San Mateo, US this morning.

The 85-year-old woman was found in a home in the 100 block of South Humboldt St.

San Mateo fire officials said they got a 911 call around 4.30am Tuesday reporting smoke and flames coming from the home.

When firefighters first got to the scene, they thought that everyone inside the house had escaped. They did, except for one person, San Mateo news media have reported.

But when seven of the eight family members finally regrouped, they realized their elderly grandmother was still inside.

“We went in and located her,” said San Mateo Consolidated Fire Dept. Marshal Robert Marshall. “We brought her out and attempted CPR but we were unsuccessful and she passed away at the scene.”

Firefighters were able to knockdown the fire by 4:45 a.m., but not before flames had heavily damaged the home.

It was not clear whether the delay in pulling the woman out would have made a difference. “That’s very difficult to say,” said Marshall. “With the advanced nature of the fire, that amount of fire would be difficult to overcome in that regard. There was a lot of smoke in the house even after the fire was extinguished, So it’s very difficult to second-guess that sort of thing.”

The Red Cross was helping the displaced family find temporary shelter.

“It’s always a sad day, You know, we always want to save people. And when we can’t, that always hits us hard,” said Marshall.

Deputy Fire Chief Kent Thrasher said a cause of the blaze was still under investigation.

Killed US Tongan farewelled

By
Kalino Latu
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Sione Feimoefiafi, the US based Tongan who arrived in the kingdom last month before he was murdered in a bar brawl, was farewelled yesterday.

Hundreds of mourners packed a FWC church for his funeral in Puke yesterday morning after he was allegedly being assaulted by five suspects.

His funeral was held as it emerged the men accused of murdering him did not appear in court on Monday because of Police concerns of the public reaction.

Mourners, including community leaders and a large number of Tupou College alumni, gathered to pay tribute to the 49-year-old father, husband, son and brother.

The services have been livestreamed and broadcast online attracting thousands of heartfelt and emotional comments and condolences from viewers across the world.

Feimoefiafi was in Tonga to attend his father’s funeral.

A month later on February 4 he died in hospital after the fatal brawl inside a bar in Nuku’alofa

It was devastating news for not only Feimoefiafi’s friends and family but for the nation who became enveloped in the brutal attack.

His coffin was carried into the church and to his grave by about ten pallbearers.

Inflation likely to fall further says Reserve Bank as rate falls below five percent

By
Philip Cass
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Tonga’s overall price level fell by just under one percent and inflation slowed to just under five percent in December, the National Reserve Bank said today.

The inflation rate stood at 6.1% in December 2017, down from a record 6.5% the previous November.

The bank said inflation was likely to fall further.

The Reserve Bank said Tonga’s economic outlook remained positive in the medium term, but uncertainty over the weather posed a risk.

Reserve Bank Governor Sione Ngongo Kioa said a number of sectors in the domestic economy had shown stronger growth.

Marine exports volumes more than doubled in December as a result of more exports of tuna. Agricultural export proceeds rose mainly from squash exports.

Construction activities reflected a stronger performance of the secondary sector supported by growth in business construction and individual housing loans.

Remittances increased in December following a decline in the previous month. This was expected to boost consumption and increase the amount of consumption tax collected.

Travel receipts rose in December with an increase of airline passengers visiting for the festive season.

Net inflow from foreign exchange deals with commercial banks and budget support receipts pushed foreign reserves to a record high in December 2018 of TP$478.5 million.

At its first meeting of the year, the Reserve Bank board of directors agreed to maintain a range of  monetary policies. These were to:

Maintain the monetary policy rate at 0% (zero interest rate  policy);

Maintain the minimum loans/deposit ratio of 80%;

Maintain the Statutory Reserve Deposit ratio at 10%,  and

Maintain the inflation reference rate at  5%.

Kioa said the banking system would continue to remain strong.

He said the Reserve Bank continues to encourage increased lending to support domestic economic activities and strengthen the monetary policy transmission mechanism.

The main points

  • Tonga’s overall price level fell by just under one percent and inflation slowed to just under five percent in December, the National Reserve Bank said today.
  • The bank said inflation was likely to fall further.

Fruit fly common in Tonga found in New Zealand

By
Kaniva Staff
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By Radio New Zealand

A second type of fruit fly (Bactrocera facialis – the facialis fruit fly) was found in the south Auckland suburb of Ōtara.

It is a different species to the Queensland fruit fly and is a separate incident to that in Devonport.

The facialis is native to Tonga and is known to affect crops of capsicum and chilli. However, it appears to be less harmful to other fruit and vegetables.

Ministry for Primary Industries director general Ray Smith said it was a tropical fruit fly species so New Zealand’s climate may not be an ideal home for it.

“As with the fruit fly in Devonport, we need to determine if it’s a lone specimen or if there’s a population of these flies in the area,” Mr Smith said.

“To do this, we’re setting more traps in the area around the find.

“And while we look for more flies, we have restricted the movement of fruit and vegetables to stop the spread of any other facialis fruit flies that may be out there.

“We are progressively ramping-up activities in the area and will be working closely with the local community.”

If there are no further detections, the operation is expected to last two-to-three weeks.

Ōtara under Controlled Area Notice

Parts of Ōtara have now been put under Controlled Area Notice (CAN).

The movement of certain fruits and vegetables out of the Controlled Area is restricted to help prevent the spread of any fruit flies if there are more than one. The CAN is a legal notice.

Those living in Zone A, are not allowed to take out whole fruit or vegetables (except leafy and root vegetables like taro, lettuce, cabbage, bok choy, rhubarb, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, kumara, celery, onions, spring onions).

Additionally, no fruit or vegetable waste, such as fruit skins and cores/stones, peelings and the like, or garden waste such as prunings from fruit trees or vegetable garden cuttings, can go out of the area.

The fruit or vegetables should either be disposed of in a home in-sink disposal unit or put into specially-supplied Biosecurity New Zealand bins.

Those in Zone B cannot move home-grown fruit and vegetables out of the Controlled Area.

Commercially-purchased fruit and vegetables bought at the supermarket can be moved out of the area. Homegrown produce waste and garden waste needs to be disposed of in Biosecurity New Zealand bins.

Minister for Biosecurity Damien O’Connor said getting rid of the fruit fly was New Zealand’s “most well-oiled biosecurity response”.

“We’ve been here several times before and each time we’ve successfully got rid of this horticultural pest,” he said.

“Two fruit flies is not an incursion as we saw in 2014 when the fruit fly was found twice in Whangarei, but we can’t be too careful and as the response ramps up I urge the local community to be vigilant.

“This is a pest that could significantly harm our $5.5 billion horticulture sector and is why the government is committed to do what it takes to keep it from establishing here.”

This is a pest that could significantly harm the $5.5 billion horticulture sector.

“Ever more visitors, a changing climate and more trade all contribute to biosecurity risk and this is the reason we are strengthening the system, including an extra $10 million at the Budget to bolster our systems offshore, and why we’re overhauling our 25-year-old Biosecurity Act to make it fit for the future we face.”

Biosecurity New Zealand has commenced an investigation into how the fruit flies have entered the country.

The response and eradication of the Queensland fruit fly in Devonport and the Bactrocera Facialis fruit fly in Ōtara, is estimated to take two-to-three weeks, both operations costing $1.3 million.

Previous fruit fly responses and successful eradication include:

  • 2016, Tau fly, Manurewa, Auckland: one fly, level 1 response, two weeks, $1.0m
  • 2015, Queensland fruit fly, Grey Lynn, Auckland: 14 flies and larvae at varying stages, level 2 response (breeding population), 10-11 months, $16.1m
  • 2014, Queensland fruit fly, Whangarei: one fly, level 1 response, three weeks, $1.1m
  • 2014, Queensland fruit fly, Whangarei: one fly, level 1 response, three weeks, $1.2m
  • 2012, Queensland fruit fly, Avondale, Auckland: one fly, level 1 response, three weeks, $1.5m

If people in the area believe they have seen signs of this fruit fly or found larvae (like white grains of rice) in fruit, they should call the response team on 0800 80 99 66.

This article is republished under the Kaniva Tonga’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

Tongan mother laments after son shot in Mangere Bridge

By
Kalino Latu
-

A Tongan mother has asked her followers and friends on Facebook to allow her to grieve in a status she posted after her son was shot in Mangere Bridge, South Auckland on Sunday morning.

Dianahope Mataele has also asked them to pray for her son Mesake Piula Mataele at this very difficult time.

She said he was her “baby” and she could not bear watching him while struggling with his injuries in hospital.

She said her son was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

A source very close to the mother told Kaniva news they were in the same church in Mangere.

As Kaniva news reported on Sunday, one person had suffered a gunshot wound and was transported to Auckland Hospital in a serious condition.

He is currently reported to be stable.

A second man, was injured during the same incident.

An eyewitness told us on Sunday they heard gunshots before Police arrived and cordoned off the scene.  She said she also heard people yelling and swearing in Tongan.

She said she woke up at 5am to take her sister to work when she heard a commotion nearby.

Police were called to the incident at the South Auckland boat ramp on Coronation Rd .

“The area has become a popular spot for late-night rowdy parties and residents have become so frustrated with drinking-related issues, fighting and noise that a community meeting had been arranged for tomorrow night.”

Police cordoned off the area and have launched an investigation. 

Yesterday Police said, Police enquiries were ongoing into the shooting.

Detective Senior Sergeant Warrick Adkin of Counties Manukau West CIB said the male remains in a stable condition in hospital.

“Police have now completed a scene examination and are currently carrying out a number of enquiries in relation to the offender(s) involved including canvassing CCTV footage in the area,” Adkin said.

Police are also continuing with the examination of a number of vehicles located in or around the scene.

Adkin said Police want to hear from anyone who has information about this incident.

“We believe there were a number of people present in the general area around the time that the incident took place, which was reported to Police shortly after 5.30am.”

Murder accused fail to appear in court amidst claims they feared public’s reaction

By
Kalino Latu and Philip Cass
-

The men accused of murdering Sione Feimoefiafi did not appear in court this morning, according to sources in Tonga.

The men were due to appear in the  Fasi Magistrate’s Court at Nukua’alofa.

It is believed Police asked the judge for the men to be kept in police custody  because they were concerned of the public reaction.

The men were named in a court list seen by journalists as Konai Bloomfield, Sione Bloomfield, Vilaketi Bloomfield, Siafa Nai and Tangi Tiufilusi Nai.

The case was adjourned to April 22. 

Feimoefiafi’s family were invited to Tupou College, the Free Wesleyan Church’s school in which Feimoefiafi went to during his high school years in Tonga.

It is understood the wife donated TP$10,000 to the college in memory of Sione.

College tutor Saimonita Pāongo said during a function at the college on Saturday, Feimoefiafi’s wife said her husband’s good command of English was the results of the education he received.

Feimoefiafi was beaten during a brawl inside Tali’eva bar on February 4.  He died in hospital later that evening.

Police arrested the accused the following day.

The tragic death of Feimoefiafi has sent shock waves throughout Tonga and the Tongan international community.

His funeral is due to be held in Puke tomorrow.

The main points

  • The men accused of murdering Sione Feimoefiafi did not appear court this morning, according to sources in Tonga.
  • The men were due to appear in the  Fasi Magistrate’s Court at Nukua’alofa.
  • The men were named in a court list seen by journalists as Konai Bloomfield, Sione Bloomfield, Vilaketi Bloomfield, Siafa Nai and Tangi Tiufilusi Nai.

For more information

Sione Feimoefiafi murder: family arrive as funeral to be held next week

Two appear in court after hand grenade, shot gun photos shared on Facebook

By
Kalino Latu
-

Two men appeared before a Magistrate this morning jointly charged with various offences including possession of prohibited weapons and hand grenades.

The men had been arrested last week after photos of them holding firearms and what appeared to be grenades were posted on Facebook.

The photographs showed the duo holding two shotguns, and several items including what appeared to be tele-radios.

Andre Manu, 50, from Fo’ui and Malu Fakauho, 39, from Kolovai were ordered by the Magistrate to reappear in court on March 25.

Police reportedly said last week Manu and Fakauho did not hold license to carry any of these firearms.

Hard hitting documentary explores the stories of deportees re-starting their lives in Tonga

By
Philip Cass
-

“It’s like crabs being stuck in a bucket scratching each other to get out.”

“It’s like rubbish dumping.”

Those are two views about the crisis facing Tonga as countries like the United States, Australia and New Zealand deport criminals to the kingdom.

The first comes from a deportee who talks how it feels being sent back to struggle for a living in a country with which he and other former prisoners are often barely familiar.

The other is from Tonga’s former Commissioner of Prisons, who wants western countries to take more responsibility for the people they deport and stop treating Tonga – and Samoa and Fiji – as dumping grounds for people they regard as rubbish.

They are, he reminds us, human beings.

The two views come from a hard hitting documentary, Gangsters in Paradise – The Deportees of Tonga. Regular contributor to Kaniva Tonga news, photographer Todd Henry, acted as Associate Producer.

Statistics show that between 1992-2016, the United States deported 700 criminals to Tonga between 1992 and January 2016, an average of 29 criminals a year. However, police figures show that up to 40 percent of the criminals deported to Tonga have come from New Zealand.

Most of the deportees are men between 25-35 years and have usually done time for assault, robbery, burglary, theft and drug offences.

Most have lived outside Tonga for 20 years.

Last year former Deputy Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said about 400 Tongans had been deported from the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand since 2012.

More than half had partners or children living overseas.

Gangsters in Paradise is not comfortable viewing. It begins with an interview with a deportee who admits to having been jailed when he was  barely out of childhood for shooting another boy four times in the stomach.

Violence played a big part in his upbringing, as it did in the lives of other deportees. For others, migration and re-migration provided a disturbed and unstable childhood.

Talia’uli Prescott talks about joining the King Cobras in New Zealand. They were aiga he tells the camera, explaining that it is a Samoan word for family.

“When you don’t have a family, they give you one,” he explains.

He is permanently banned from New Zealand.

“That’s the only world I know,” he says.

“It’s very sad.”

By good fortune he has a job at Queen Salote wharf and says that he doesn’t want his legacy to be as somebody who was deported to Tonga.

“I loved being a bad guy, but now I want to be a good guy,” he says.

Other deportees have had a harder time fitting in.

As American deportee Sione Ngaue says: “We’re judged before they even get to know us. We have a red ‘X’ against us.”

Some deportees, like Ngaue,  have staked a claim to family land. He works 14 acres after a dispute with his uncles.

While some of the interviewees regard their time in prison as a chance to re-think their lives and gain a different perspective, others have brought nothing but trouble to Tonga.

Tonga is in the midst of a methamphetamine crisis and some deportees have gone back into the drugs trade.

One scene in the film shows a dealer preparing methamphetamine for sale, boasting that he can make TP$5000 from his Sunday night trading.

And sympathetic as he might be to their plight, Prisons Commissioner Sione Falemanu says deportees have brought more crime to the kingdom and sparked a wave of robberies.

With the Tongan diaspora spread between Sydney and Salt Lake City, this issue is clearly not going to go away. After a public screening of the documentary in Auckland last week, members of the audience who spoke during a talanoa, were  sympathetic, but others warned that the deporting countries would also have to take note of what was happening.

“In all honesty, this is an ongoing issue, and believe it or not, it won’t be resolved in the near future. We’re going to have a lot of deportees. And to be honest, we need to start removing the [negative] perception around deportees,”    one audience member said.

However, another warned: “If New Zealand does not actually pay attention to what we are seeing, it’s going to backfire on New Zealand. We’re already seeing it.”

The main points

  • A hard-hitting new documentary, Gangsters in Paradise – The Deportees of Tonga, examines the conditions of prisoners who have been sent back to the islands.
  • Deportees talk about the hardships – and sometimes the life changing experience – of starting life in country they often don’t know.
  • Tonga’s Commissioner of Prisons wants western countries to stop treating Tonga as a dumping ground for people they regard as rubbish.

For more information

Tongan deportees on the struggle to reinvent in a place both home and not

Gangsters in Paradise – The Deportees of Tonga.

One person seriously injured after Mangere Bridge shooting

By
Kalino Latu
-

One person has suffered a serious gunshot wound after he was shot in Mangere Bridge this morning.

Police were called to the incident on Coronation Road at 5.40am today.

The victim was transported to Auckland Hospital in a serious condition.

He is currently reported to be stable.

A second man, located nearby, was found to have suffered moderate facial injuries and Police can now confirm he was injured during the same incident.

A scene examination is under way on Coronation Road and cordons are in place while police staff work in the area.

Enquiries are ongoing to locate the offender/s.   If anyone has information which could assist the investigation team, please call Counties Manukau Crime Squad on 09 261 1321 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Sione Feimoefiafi murder: family arrive as funeral to be held next week

By
Kalino Latu
-

The funeral for US based Tongan Sione Feimoefiafi will be held in Puke next week February 19, more than a fortnight after he died in Tonga, our correspondent in Tongatapu has reported.

A Ministry of Health spokesperson said the deceased’s body has been released back to his family this morning at 11am.

The 49-year-old who lived in Portland, Oregon for years died following an afternoon brutal bar brawl in Tonga.

He has been repeatedly punched and kicked before being dragged outside onto the road.

He died in hospital that evening. He is survived by his wife and three teenage children.

Five men have been charged with his murder and had been scheduled to appear in the Fasi Magistrate Court on Monday.

Meanwhile his family have arrived in Tonga on Thursday.

Tonga’s Chief Secretary Edgar Cocker said some cabinet ministers welcomed Feimoefiafi’s family.

A video clip shared on Facebook shows Sione’s mother Talakuo’eva Feimoefiafi thanking the people  for the outpouring of love, numerous messages, tributes and compassion in the wake of the former boxer’s murder.

Sione’s father was a Free Wesleyan Church minister.

Sione went to Tupou College, the Church’s largest boys’ school in Tonga.

Our correspondent said Sione’s funeral service was organised to be held next week to allow the church and Tupou college’s alumni an opportunity to attend the funeral.

He said the Alumni was holding its annual singing competition today.  

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Sione Feimoefiafi: murder accused to appear in court
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