Police v Fili [2015] WSSC 264 (29 July 2015)

SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Fili [2015] WSSC 264

Case name:	Police v Fili
Citation:	[2015] WSSC 264
Decision date:	29 July 2015
Parties:	Police (prosecution) v Koko Fili, male of Vaigaga
Hearing date(s):
File number(s):	S2954/15 and S2955/15
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Place of delivery:	Supreme Court of Samoa, Mulinuu
Judge(s):	Justice Ema Aitken
On appeal from:
Order:	You are convicted on both charges and sentenced to a period of 12 months supervision on conditions: You are not to consume any alcohol or illegal drugs for the duration of that sentence in other words for twelve months. You are to complete 100 hours of community service work For the next two months, you are curfewed to your home address in other words required to be at your home address every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from 7.00 pm – 7.00 am. In other words, from tomorrow night, for the next two months you will not be going out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night (the time when young men tend to consume too much alcohol and get into trouble) unless you are in the company of your mother or your father. That curfew will run until Sunday 27 September, so for the next nine weekends. You will undertake an alcohol and drug program as directed by your probation officer and there will be good programs becoming available in a new year. You will do as directed by your probation officer and also the community justice supervisor because I am encouraging community probation to nominate a supervisor in your area. If you breach these conditions, or you commit another burglary, there will be a significant loss of liberty and you will be at Tafaigata prison. First time burglary may permit a second chance, second time burglary will not.
Representation:	L Tavita for prosecution Defendant appears in person
Catchwords:	Burglary - theft
Words and phrases:	Opportunistic burglary
Legislation cited:
Cases cited:
Summary of decision:

THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA

HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

P O L I C E
Prosecution

AND:

Koko Fili, male of Vaigaga.
Defendant

Counsel: L Tavita for the Prosecution

Defendant appears in person

Sentence: 29 July 2015

Oral Sentence of Justice E M Aitken

1. Koko Fili, you have pleaded guilty to one charge of burglary, one charge of theft. The maximum penalty for burglary is ten years imprisonment and the maximum penalty for theft is seven years imprisonment. So what that tells me as the judge is that this is a serious offending.
2. You went into the victim’s restaurant last month at about 10:30 at night to buy some food and there was nothing unlawful in that. But while you were in the restaurant, you noticed in his bedroom his laptop and his flash drive and you made a decision to go into his bedroom and steal those items. So the burglary here was committed when you entered his bedroom intending to take the goods and of course the theft is when you take the goods.
3. You ran out with them, the victim saw you, he was able to identify you from his security footage, the police caught you and the property was returned. There is no report before the Court from the victim, he has closed his shop and he has left the area. I can only assume that, at the very least, he would have been very upset and angry at your behaviour.
4. You are 20 years old and you have no previous conviction. You come from a good family; it is not often that I see both a mother and uncle to support a young offender. You are also an only child and I hope you feel a sense of shame having let your parents down with your offending.
5. I can see from the probation report that you are deeply remorseful from what you did. That you do feel ashamed and that you think you have learnt a lesson from your behaviour.
6. In terms of the gravity of the offending, I regard this as an opportunistic burglary committed on a spur of the moment by a young 20 year old man with no previous convictions and under the influence of alcohol. Where the property has been returned, where there is good family support and a reasonably positive probation report, the primary purpose of sentencing, in my view, must be rehabilitation.
7. What that means Mr Fili is that today, I will not send you to prison, instead you are convicted on both charges and sentenced to a period of 12 months supervision on conditions:

• a) You are not to consume any alcohol or illegal drugs for the duration of that sentence in other words for twelve months.
• b) You are to complete 100 hours of community service work
• c) For the next two months, you are curfewed to your home address in other words required to be at your home address every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from 7.00 pm – 7.00 am. In other words, from tomorrow night, for the next two months you will not be going out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night (the time when young men tend to consume too much alcohol and get into trouble) unless you are in the company of your mother or your father. That curfew will run until Sunday 27 September, so for the next nine weekends.
• d) You will undertake an alcohol and drug program as directed by your probation officer and there will be good programs becoming available in a new year.
• e) You will do as directed by your probation officer and also the community justice supervisor because I am encouraging community probation to nominate a supervisor in your area.

8. If you breach these conditions, or you commit another burglary, there will be a significant loss of liberty and you will be at Tafaigata prison. First time burglary may permit a second chance, second time burglary will not.

_____________________

JUSTICE E M AITKEN