The Supreme Court has sentenced a man to a two year suspended sentence and ordered him to pay back thousands of pa’anga on a series of fraud and forgery charges.
Sepuloni Mateo appeared before Judge L.M.Niu for sentencing.
The court was told Mateo was working for Pacific Forum Line and had begun drinking heavily with his friends.
Niu said when Raymond Yu enquired about purchasing an empty container, Mateo saw a way to cheat him by selling him a container that was not his or his employer’s.
He planned to keep the money for himself to fund his drinking.
The court was told Mateo had earlier pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- Obtaining money by false pretences by obtaining TP$8200 from Raymond Yu by representing to him that Pacific Forum Line was selling him a particular container when the container did not belong to Pacific Forum Line.
- Forgery in that he created a false invoice for $8250 purporting to be issued by Pacific Forum Line in order that Raymond Yu would act on it as a genuine invoice.
- Knowingly dealing with a forged document in that he gave the forged invoice to Raymond Yu as if it was a genuine invoice of Pacific Forum Line.
- Forgery in that he created a false receipt for $4200 as having been issued by Pacific Forum Line in order that Raymond Yu would act on it as a genuine receipt of Pacific Forum Line.
- Knowingly dealing with a forged document in that he gave the forged receipt for $4200 to Raymond Yu as a genuine receipt of Pacific Forum Line.
- Forgery in that he created a false receipt for $4000 as having been issued by Pacific Forum Line in order that Raymond Yu would act on it as a genuine receipt of Pacific Forum Line.
- Knowingly dealing with a forged document in that he gave the forged receipt for $4000 to Raymond Yu as a genuine receipt of Pacific Forum Line.
Mateo was sentenced to two years in jail on the first count, one year for the second charge, six months on the third charge, one year on the fourth count, six months on the fifth count, one year on the sixth charge and six months on the seventh count.
All sentences were to be served concurrently, but were suspended
Judge Finau said a suspended sentence would hang over Mateo as an assurance that if he committed another offence he would go to prison and serve his sentence in full.
“It will also serve to discipline you to pay your indebtedness and to teach you indelibly that you must not do this ever again and thereby make yourself a better young man,” the judge said.
“But most importantly you will not have money to spare and to use for drinking, the folly which had led you into this mess.”
Mateo was ordered to pay Yu TP$100 no later than 6pm of every Friday until a total sum of TP$8200 had been paid.
The main points
- The Supreme Court has sentenced a man to a two year suspended sentence and ordered him to pay back TP$8200 restitution on a series of fraud and forgery charge.
- Sepuloni Mateo appeared before Judge L.M.Niu for sentencing.
