Police v Williams [2011] CKHC 62; CRN325.2011 (27 July 2011)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE COOK ISLANDS
HELD AT RAROTONGA
(CRIMINAL DIVISION)
CRN 325/11

BETWEEN

POLICE
Informant

AND

TAU KI TE PO WILLIAMS
Defendant

Hearing: 27 July 2011

Counsel: Senior Sergeant R Hosking-Tane for Informant
Ms L Rokoika for Defendant

Sentence: 27 July 2011

SENTENCE OF C NICHOLSON J

[1] Mr Will you have pleaded guiltguilty to the offence of unlawfully entering the Grand View rental accommodation with intent to commit a crime therein. The facts are that at about 4 o'clock on theing o 2nd of d of April thil this yea entered the building, yng, you had been drinking in two nightclubs, you entered a room andtouched a person who was asleep. This person asked you to leave and called out for her moth mother, and that you then spoke to her and the person panicked and yelled at you to get out. You then left.

[2] The Probation Officer reports that you are 20 yef age, that you were born born and raised in Nassau, that you came to Rarotonga a year or so agoind work. You. You live witr uncle. You were working at the Crown Beach Resort as a groundsman. The supervisor at the the resort describes you as quiet, reliabd a good worker. Your uncle and relatives describe you as a as a good person who has given no problems. You have not previously appeared before the Court except recently on a minor traffic matter.

[3] For the Police Senior Sergeant Hosking-Tane submits that a factor of concern is that Rarotonga is a reliant on tourism for income and a crime such as the present one damages the reputation of the island and its people. She submits, however, that in the light of the mitigating circumstances an appropriate sentence would be for you to be convicted and come up if called on within six months.

[4] Your lawyer, Ms Rokoika, ed out that the rohe root of the problem was that you had been drinking and that you decided to visit your girlfriend. You beliehat you were entering her house and touching her, that you left without fuss when you realirealised that you'd made a mistake. She points out your youthful age and lack of any previous significant convictions. She emphasised that it would be important to bear in mind your future and to ensure that a sentence enabled you to progress and to be rehabilitated. She submitted that you had pleaded guilty at the first appropriate opportunity after disclosure of documents. She pointed out your belief that you were waking your girlfriend and that there was not any pre-medication to commit an offence to steal or to commit an act of violence.

[5] She asked that the appropriate sentence be that as recommended by the Probation Officer, namely that the matter be adjourned six months and for discharge without conviction if you didn't re-offend within that time.

[6] Although there is the concern about the lawful entry into buildings and the effect that it has on the reputation of the Cook Islands and its people, in this case the circumstances were such that it was not a serious case of its kind of intended theft or violence on your part. I accept the mitigating factors, that it is in effect a first offence and that you are otherwise a person of good character as described by your family and your employer.

[7] However, I consider that it is not a case for discharge without conviction because there must be some record of this breach and this I hope will be a deterrent to you in the future not to offend again, knowing that if you do with a previous conviction for this type of offence the penalty that the Court will impose could be quite severe. However, it is one in which I consider that the conviction alone is adequate penalty and, therefore, I sentence you by convicting you and ordering you to come up for sentence if called on in six months.

[8] So that means that, if you do not offend again within six months then that is the end of the matter so far as you are concerned and you need not come back to Court on it again. I hope that your good qualities as described by your family and employer carry you through to a successful future and I wish you all the best.

C Nicholson J

Editorial Note: Derived from the Court’s electronic records and believed to be correct and final.