Police slammed for keeping 3-year-old girl at station

11 January 2017, 12:00AM

A 65-year-old father of Vini fou and his 3-year-old daughter were held in the Police interview room for almost three hours on Tuesday. Eti Sapolu went with his daughter Malu Sapolu to the Police station inquiring about a matter he was asked to give evidence when they were held there. The matter follows a case a few years ago where a young boy was locked up in Police cell. What do you think about the treatment of the girl? Josefa Steven Maiava asked in today’s Street Talk and this is what people said:

 

Maiava Pelesi, 44, 

Avao

I think it was wrong of them to take in the young girl. She is innocent. If you think about it, the young girl didn’t do anything wrong and the blame should have been on the dad so they should’ve punished him for what he did and not her. Justice should be served onto the guilty and not the innocence. They should’ve looked for a better solution to fix the problem. The police are supposed to be protecting the government and our country to bring peace to our nation. 

They don’t go off to war to fight for our nation so they should concentrate on fixing things here in Samoa without abusing their power. If the family can’t fix the problem, then it’s the policemen who are supposed to step in to fix it in an appropriate way. The police should make amends for every wrong move they’ve made and they should really change the way they deal with the matters of the public.

 

Faith Morita, 18, 

Siusega 

The Police have been the hot topic in Samoa for an extended period of time now. All thanks to the negligent attitude of a few. Power goes straight to their heads which makes them think they have the right to do anything they want which is downright unacceptable for a department that’s meant to be protecting people and their rights, rather than abusing it according to their own interpretation of justice. For example, there was an article in the paper stating that policemen allegedly locked up a 65 year old male with his 3 year old daughter. That’s not justice! The daughter had no business being in the police station and surprisingly this isn’t the only case that proves that there’s injustice in our justice system. We need to address this issue immediately before it’s too late.

 

Fuafiva Fuafiva, 38, 

Vaikoa Faleata

I really don’t know what happened, but I think they made a wrong move by taking in the father and his daughter. They should’ve given him a chance because he was the taking care of his daughter. They shouldn’t have taken both of them and lock both of them. 

It’s going to affect this young girl’s mind growing up. You know what they say that children are like cameras. If they are exposed to these kind of stuffs at a very young age, it will affect them growing up. This will affect this child mentally, and I believe that this is not the first time they’ve taken in young children just because they accused their parents of breaking the law.

 

Alessi Faiese, 40, 

Leulumoega 

This whole story about the father getting locked up with his 3 year old daughter is not right. The daughter had nothing to do with it and it should’ve been dealt with as a family matter. Since the policemen did get involved, they should’ve tried to calm the brother and sister down instead of making the rash decision of taking the brother and his daughter in. she’s innocence so there was no sense in exposing the young girl to the dirty and unhealthy atmosphere of the police station and this experience could very much stain her for life. 

This matter is insane! Victim support should jump into this matter because it was unfair to expose her to that experience. If it was justice they were seeking then they should’ve dealt it in a different way. The police should come up with a form of psychology course to help them deal with these matters differently.

 

Grace Manuleleua, 21, 

Siusega 

The Police are supposed to protect our rights, not vice versa. We look to them for help regarding issues which only they have jurisdiction in. Now I find it difficult to trust our own justice system, which reflects the amount of power abuse they exhibit throughout their duties. The whole dilemma with the late Commissioner Egon Keil, searching households without a search warrant, and now the arrest and holding of a 65-year-old father with his 3-year-old daughter all fall under this category of abusive and misuse of power. The Police should really reflect on their whole existence as officers of the law and I strongly believe they should recommend altering their way of enforcing justice.

 

Iakopo Agafili, 42, 

Salaílua

They really need to improve with how they do their job. Sometimes when we have a problem or a fight here on the streets and we call them to come and help, it takes time for them to respond to our calls. And for this particular issue, I personally think they shouldn’t have taken the 3-year-old in. She is innocent. They are the peace-makers and they people go to them for help.

11 January 2017, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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