The Supreme Court has handed down a conviction over a fight in which a man’s jaw was fractured.
Paea He Lotu Sika, ‘Apolosi Vea and ‘Alungamonu Maka appeared on charges that on November 4, 2018, at Vaini they repeatedly kicked and punched Hopoate Teisina and fractured his jaw.
On that date two busloads were returning from Nukualofa to Taliai Miiitary Camp after attending a flag raising ceremony to commemorate Tupou I day.
When the two buses reached Vaini, in front of Beulah College, Teisina and another male tried to stop the Army buses. They punched the vehicles and threw bottles at them.
Officer Pita Tapa, who was driving the first bus, told the court he asked Teisina to get out of the way. He said that he had told Sika, Maka and Vea to move Teisina out of the way.
He said soldiers from the other bus had got hold of Teisina, who was on the ground. He said he called the accused to come back. Tapa said he did not see anybody kick or punch Teisina.
However, under examination he said his earlier statement to police that he had seen the three defendants beating Teisina was true. The men returned to the bus, but then got off again and Tapa said saw Sika punch Teisina, who fell to the ground.
Teisina told the court he and his friend had drunk two bottles of vodka in the early morning. He admitted to being drunk. He said that the soldiers had got off the bus and beat up his friend.
He ran away and they started punching him and he fell to the ground. He said he lost consciousness and woke up in hospital with a broken jaw.
The court was told Teisina had got hold of a rake and used it to attack the soldiers.
Sika said he, Maka and Vea got off the bus and punched Teisina. Sika said he later kicked Teisina in the head, face and mouth.
None of the accused gave evidence in court.
In his summary of the case, Judge Cato said he was not convinced of the validity of Maka and Vea’s evidence and gave weight to evidence that Teisina was armed with a rake and that there was an element of self defence involved.
“I cannot exclude the possibility that when the soldiers caught up with Hopoate, Hopoate turned to confront them with the rake and Maka punched and kicked Hopoate in the honest belief that he and the others were in imminent danger of being assaulted by Hopoate with the rake he was carrying,” the judge said.
“Hopoate was inflamed by alcohol, in an angry and dangerous mood and he was seen to have acted irrationally already in willfully breaking a bottle, striking the bus and had punched Sika in the first incident.”
Maka and Vea were therefore found not guilty.
However, the judge said the medical evidence was that Teisina’s injuries were consistent with blunt object applied with force to the face.
He said it was beyond reasonable doubt that the injuries were caused by Sika kicking him in the face and mouth.
“He caused serious bodily harm to Hopoate without legal justification,” the judge said.
“I find him guilty of the offence and convict him accordingly.”
