Lilieta Tu’itupou, 30, was found guilty after willfully and without justification hit with the flat side of a machete the left back side of her own mother Mahetani Tu’itupou, 54.
She also without lawful justification hit with a wooden board the back and thigh of her daughter Sisi ‘Upolu Houa.
The prisoner was sentenced in a Magistrate Court to four months’ imprisonment.
The sentencing Magistrate said that Tu’itupou had a previous criminal record and this was part of the reason for not suspending any part of her sentence.
The charge against attacking her mother under section 112 (a) of the Criminal Offences Act is for a minor assault where no major injury is caused liable to a fine of $5000.00 or 12 months’ imprisonment. The attack by a daughter of her mother is much more serious, a court document said.
In allowing the appeal, Supreme Court Justice Tevita Tupou said the Police record shows that Tu’itupou did not have a criminal record.
For this reason, the prosecutor at the Supreme Court did not oppose the appeal and submits that there should be a partial suspension of the sentences as this was her first criminal offence.
The prosecutor also did not support a full suspension because of the use of a weapon for the assault.
Justice Tupou replaced Tu’itupou’s original jail term with three months’ imprisonment with a 12 month’s suspension of her final month in jail. Justice Tupou also reduced the three month’s imprisonment by seven days for the days Tu’itupou was in prison until released on bail on 2 March 2021.
The attacks
The appeal court heard that on 15 February 2021 in Fātumu, the prisoner was with her mother and her four-year-old daughter Sisi ‘Upolu Houa.
Tu’itupou told her mother that there was a funeral in the family of her father. Her mother did not want to take any part in the funeral as she did not like the family of her father.
Tu’itupou was very angry by the attitude of her mother so she went and got a machete to hit her.
Her mother ran outside calling for help from the neighbours and Tu’itupou hit her bottom with the flat side of the machete before help came from the neighbour and stopped the assault.
Her mother went to the Police Station and lodged her complaint about the attack.
At the same time, she lodged a complaint on behalf of Tu’itupou’s four-year-old daughter Sisi ‘Upolu Houa who showed bruise marks on her body and leg.
Medical evidence showed that these bruises were caused by a wooden board which was in the Court room with the machete.
