Chief Justice raises concerns

By Ioana Tupa'i 16 January 2018, 12:00AM

The Chief Justice, His Honour Patu Tiava’asue Falefatu Sapolu, has expressed concerns about the non-appearance of suspects remanded at Tafa’igata Prison when their cases are called.

His Honour Patu is especially concerned about the number of them missing during their initial mention hearing.

The Chief Justice raised the issue during the Supreme Court proceedings yesterday.

“We need to have a solution for such a problem because it seems like a continuous issue,” he said.

He even asked the Prosecutors about why these detainees are not in Court on time.

The Prosecutors responded that the detainees were on their way.

But the Chief Justice was not impressed.

The matter was then stood down.

But the detainees never appeared, including Samoa’s most wanted man, Uili Sa Manuleleua, who remains on the run since he escaped from Tafaigata just before Christmas.

Contacted for a comment, the Samoa Prisons and Correctional Services Assistant Commissioner, Ulugia Niua Aumua, said there were matters that the Correctional officers had to attend to yesterday.

This is why they were late in taking the detainees to Court.

He reassured that such a problem will not happen again.

By Ioana Tupa'i 16 January 2018, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>