R v Langi [2025] TOSC 13; CR 193 of 2024 (4 March 2025)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TONGA
CRIMINAL JURISDICTION
NUKU'ALOFA REGISTRY

CR 193 of 2024

BETWEEN:
REX
-Prosecution

AND:
PAULINE LANGI aka PAULINE FAKA’OSI
-Accused

SENTENCE

BEFORE: HON. LORD CHIEF JUSTICE BISHOP KC

Appearance: Mr K Tamo’ua for the Crown Prosecution
The Defendant in Person
Date: 4 March 2025

1. THE CHARGES

1. On 17 January 2025, the Accused pleaded guilty to the following charges.
   1. Count 1: Theft, contrary to section 143(b) and 145(b) of the Criminal Offences Act
   2. Count 2: Embezzlement, contrary to section 158 of the Criminal Offences Act.

2. CROWN SUBMISSIONS

2. On 3 January 2025, the Crown filed their sentencing submissions to assist the Court.
3. Aggravating features are submitted that include the fact you were in a position of trust as an employee and the level of premeditation involved in committing the offences.
4. The only mitigating feature applicable here is that you are a first-time offender and that you pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
5. A victim impact report was also included in the Crown’s submissions detailing the financial loss, betrayal of trust, emotional and reputational damage suffered by the employers as a result of your offending.
6. The following sentencing comparables were submitted in support;
   1. Wall v R [2001] TLR 42; [2001] Tonga LR 238
   2. R v Cocker (CR 3 of 2013)
   100. R v Fatafehi (CR 136 of 2024)
   4. R v Tahilanu (CR 98 of 2023)
7. The Crown recommended the following sentence:
   1. Count 1: 3 ½ years imprisonment
   2. Count 2: 2 ½ years imprisonment concurrent to Count 1.
8. The last 12 months of the sentence is to be suspended on conditions.
   100. PRESENTENCE REPORT
9. A presentence report was filed from the Probation Office on 14 January 2025.
10. The report detailed your upbringing which was stable and good, personal history and factors relating to the offence with their recommendation.
11. The report states that you are a mother of 5, you have returned to your parents and children but according to Mavae your behaviour has not changed, and you have begun to leave your home again.
12. The Probation Office concludes their report in stating you show a “high-risk” of re-offending given your lack of previous good character, current unemployment and association with the wrong kinds of people.
13. A partly suspended sentence is recommended under conditions.
    4. DISCUSSION
14. You have pleaded guilty to serious act of theft and embezzlement. The total amount involved is $155,588.
15. You worked as a cashier/finance manager of a small company and very shortly after you had begun your employment you began to help yourself to the firms’ funds.
16. Originally, you took $1,800 and your employers who with great consideration allowed you to enter into agreement to repay the money.
17. You did not repay the money and two weeks later a further $7,000 was appropriated by you and again when the matter came to light, your employers gave you another chance. You treated that with complete contempt because on the 2 August 2023, you withdrew $20,000 from the bank, and on the 18 August 2023, you withdrew a further $20,000.
18. On 20 September 2023 you withdrew $29,000, and on 28 September 2023 through a third-party you withdrew another $27,000 in total the amount of the four-check withdrawal amounted to $96,000.
19. When the police investigated the matter, they found that you had embezzled $57,588 which you had received from customers of the company the total amount of the theft and measurement came to less than $155,588.
20. These are very serious offensive what makes them particularly serious is, first you were given two chances which you ignored, second what you did was in breach of the position of trust you were expected to honour, third your systemic dishonesty born of avarice and greed resulted in economic, emotional and reputational damage to your employers.
21. Further, you have not provided any reason for taking the money other than on one occasion to give some of it to your brother. There is not here any question of pressing financial needs such as the need to provide for medical treatment for yourself or for a child, no suggestion and what you did was because of an acute financial crisis.
22. I am driven to the view at what you did was because you were simply dishonest, greedy and avaricious. None of the money has been returned and unlikely to be so.
23. You will understand that for these serious offences no sentence apart from an immediate custodial sentence is warranted.
24. I have considered the helpful pre-sentence report and consider the financial loss, betrayal of trust, emotional impact and reputational damage which are set out in some detail in that report.
25. I have also considered the comparable sentences helpfully set out the prosecution’s submissions.
26. The upshot is the head sentence here is count one where I take as a starting point 4 years however in view of your plea of guilty, I discount that sentence by 12 months which gives you a sentence of 32 months’ imprisonment.
27. On count two the sentence is 3 years imprisonment, less 12 months making a total of 24 years to be served concurrently with count one.
28. I have given careful thought to the question of suspension in whole or in part. You are not young you admitted the offense but made no attempt not in reality to repay the money which you have appropriated but you did plead guilty at an early stage.
29. I consider in those circumstances the last 12 months of the sentence I have imposed should be suspended; the upshot is that the total sentence is 32 months of which 12 months is to be suspended making 20 months to be served in custody with 12 months thereafter suspended on conditions.
    5. FINAL RESULT
30. For Count 1 of Theft, I impose a sentence of 32 months’ imprisonment
31. For Count 2 of Embezzlement, I impose a sentence of 24 months’ imprisonment to be concurrent to Count 1.
32. I order that the last 12 months of the sentence is suspended for 1 year on the following conditions;
    1. You must not commit any further offences
    2. You must report to the Probation Office within 48 hours of your release from custody.
    100. You must be placed on probation
33. For the avoidance of doubt, you will serve a total of 20 months’ imprisonment followed by 12 months suspended on conditions.
    

HON. MALCOLM BISHOP KC

LORD CHIEF JUSTICE

NUKU’ALOFA

4 March 2025