Police v Amani [2008] WSSC 26 (22 May 2008)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT APIA

BETWEEN

POLICE
Prosecution

AND

MERITA ALAFAU AMANI
female of Faatoia and Vaiee, Safata.
Accused

Editor's note: Sentence by Sapolu CJ

Counsel: L Su’a-Mailo for prosecution
M V Peteru for accused

Sentence: 22 May 2008

SENTENCE

The charges

1. The accused appears for sentence on one count of theft as a servant under ss.55 and 86(1)(g) of the Crimes Ordinance 1961 which carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment and one count of false accounting by an employee under s.99 of the Ordinance which carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

2. When the charges against he accused were called for mention on 2 April 2007, she pleaded not guilty to both charges. The matter was then adjourned for hearing to 24 September 2007. On that date, the matter was further adjourned for hearing to the week commencing 5 May 2008. On the date of the hearing, the accused’s plea of not guilty was vacated and substituted with a guilty plea. So the guilty plea was quite delayed.

The offending

3. As it appears from the summary of facts, the accused was at the material time employed by the South Pacific Games Authority (SPGA) as an accounts officer. Part of her responsibilities included posting payments into the voucher system and preparing vouchers and cheques to be signed by the authorised personnel.

4. On Friday 24 November 2006, the accused prepared an ANZ cheque for the amount of $2,000 under the account of the SPGA. She wrote out the said amount in words and numerals in such a way that left sufficient space in the front to allow for alteration. The accused then gave the cheque to the chief executive authority of the SPGA to sign and for another authorised personnel to endorse.
   

5. On Monday 27 November 2006, with intent to defraud, the accused made a false entry in the cheque by adding "thirty" in word and "3" in figure, and by certifying the cheque as correct for the amount of $32,000 instead of $2,000. On the same day, the accused took the cheque to the ANZ Bank at Matafele and cashed it using her driver’s licence as proof of her identification

6. The accused later entered into the voucher system the amount of $32,000 as payment made to the Samoa Shooting Federation when in fact no payment was made to the Samoa Shooting Federation.

7. The amount of $32,000 withdrawn by the accused was used by her for her own personal use. None of the money has been repaid.

The accused

8. The accused is a 31 year old female. She is a solo mother with a six year old son. She is again pregnant and her counsel informed the Court that she is due to give birth in July.

9. The accused had attained a reasonable level of education having completed school at Year 13. She had also been employed in two different Government ministries before she commenced employment with the SPGA. She is now employed as an operations assistant in an international organisation.

10. The testimonial from the EFKS pastor of the accused’s village shows that the accused had been a person of good character prior to the commission of these offences. The testimonial from the pulenu’u of the accused’s village states that since the commission of these offences, the accused has been of good character and has been participating in activities of the aualuma and women’s committee.

11. The accused is also a first offender.

Aggravating factors

12. Apart from the high degree of fraud involved in this matter is the breach by the accused of her position of financial trust. The amount of $32,000 which the accused took from her former employer is also quite a substantial amount by Samoan standards.

Mitigating factors

13. Even though the accused’s plea of guilty to the charges is a mitigating feature, the mitigating value of her guilty plea is reduced by the fact that the accused had originally pleaded not guilty and only changed her plea to guilty at the time the case was to go to trial. So her guilty was very much a delayed one.

14. The fact that the accused is a first offender carries little weight due to the need for general deterrence in this type of case.
    

The decision

15. In determining what should be the appropriate sentence, I take into consideration the aggravating and mitigating factors. I have not overlooked the fact that the accused is a solo mother with a six year old son and that she is pregnant again and is due to give birth in July. Given the nature of the Samoan social and family system, I am confident that the accused’s son can be looked after and taken care of by her parents and family. The prison authorities can also make appropriate arrangements to ensure the health and safety of the accused when she is due to give birth in July. Appropriate arrangements can also be made for the health and safety of the baby. The prosecution must draw these matters to the attention of the prison authorities.

16. For the charge of theft as a servant, the accused is sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. For the charge of false accounting, the accused is sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. Both sentences to be concurrent.

CHIEF JUSTICE

Solicitors
Attorney-General’s Office, Apia, for prosecution
M V Peteru Law Firm