Police v Pelenato [2015] WSSC 255 (25 May 2015)

SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Pelenato [2015] WSSC 255

Case name:	Police v Pelenato
Citation:	[2015] WSSC 255
Decision date:	25 May 2015
Parties:	Police (prosecution) v Talalelei Pelenato, male of Leauvaa
Hearing date(s):
File number(s):	S1163/15
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Place of delivery:	Supreme Court of Samoa, Mulinuu
Judge(s):	Justice Ema Aitken
On appeal from:
Order:	You are convicted and sentenced to 12 months supervision. (1) You are to comply with the directions of your Probation Officer; (2) complete 80 hours of community work; and just to ensure there is no further offending (3) you will also undertake an anger management programme as directed by your Probation Officer
Representation:	F Lagaaia for prosecution Defendant in person
Catchwords:	Causing actual bodily harm
Words and phrases:	Premeditation involved - significant cut - use of a weapon
Legislation cited:
Cases cited:
Summary of decision:

THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA

HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

P O L I C E
Prosecution

AND:

Talalelei Pelenato, male of Leauva’a
Defendant

Counsel: F Lagaaia for prosecution
Defendant in person

Sentence: 25 May 2015

Oral Sentence of Justice E M Aitken

1. Mr Pelenato, you appear for sentence having pleaded guilty to one charge of causing actual bodily harm; that offence carries a maximum penalty of 7 years imprisonment.
2. In these particular circumstances you and the victim are brothers and you woke up on a Saturday morning to be told by your wife that your brother had come home the previous night drunk and swearing. You were clearly angry about that. You took a machete and approached him where he was sleeping and asked for him to return a mat to you, which he did. You walked away but as you were leaving the victim called out words that clearly upset you, telling you to build your own house with your wife, and that caused you to return back and swing the machete towards your brother who blocked the blow with his left hand and thereby colliding with the machete.
3. Now that act caused a significant cut, an 18cm cut to his left palm which required 13 stitches, so when I consider your offending it involved the use of a weapon that caused a significant cut and there was some premeditation involved, Mr Pelenato. You took the machete with you, maybe just to scare your brother or to ensure he took you seriously but by taking it with you of course you then used it, so to that extent there was some premeditation.
4. I agree with the Attorney General’s Office who submits a starting point for this sort of offending would be a sentence of 18 months imprisonment.
5. I turn then to look at your personal circumstances. You are 45 years old. You have no prior convictions. Everything I have read about you persuades me that you are a hardworking man; you work on the family plantation to support your family, which includes your 6 children. You are also described as a deacon of your church, which reflects, obviously, your dedication to that church and your religion, and because of your position I accept that your behaviour has brought shame on both your family and, to some extent, on your role as deacon of the church. Your wife and your minister both ask the Court for leniency. Your brother tells me, through his victim impact statement, that you have apologized to him; that he has accepted your apology and forgiven you.
6. I am sentencing then a mature man of previous good character, who I find to have acted out of character – in other words, not as you would normally behave – I suspect pushed by the taunts from your brother, which do not excuse your behaviour but certainly do explain it. I find you to be remorseful and I note that you have apologized to the victim who has accepted your apology and forgiven you. You also pleaded guilty to the offence at an early opportunity and if I take all of those factors together that could result in a term of imprisonment of around 8 months.
7. Acts of violence almost always or often at least attract a term of imprisonment, Mr Pelenato. But in your particular case, I do not intend to sentence you to prison. I accept your remorse; I accept ae degree of provocation; and I find you to be someone who is highly unlikely to re-offend and for all of those reasons I will deal with you instead by way of the following sentence.
8. You are convicted and sentenced to 12 months supervision. (1) You are to comply with the directions of your Probation Officer; (2) complete 80 hours of community work; and just to ensure there is no further offending (3) you will also undertake an anger management programme as directed by your Probation Officer.
9. As you will appreciate, Mr Pelenato, we all get angry; it is what we do when we are angry that makes the difference between appearing in Court and not appearing in Court, and I am hopeful that an anger management programme will give you an opportunity just to explore your behaviours and ensure that should you be in a similar situation in the future you are well able to walk away.

____________________

JUSTICE E M AITKEN