Police v Ioane [2021] WSSC 2 (18 January 2021)

SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Ioane [2021] WSSC 2

Case name:	Police v Ioane
Citation:	[2021] WSSC 2
Decision date:	18 January 2021
Parties:	POLICE (Prosecution) AND AH FOOK IOANE male of Leauva’a. (Defendant)
Hearing date(s):	-
File number(s):
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Place of delivery:	Supreme Court of Samoa, Mulinuu
Judge(s):	Justice Nelson
On appeal from:
Order:
Representation:	F Ioane for prosecution Defendant unrepresented
Catchwords:	- Burglary and theft – previous conviction
Words and phrases:
Legislation cited:
Cases cited:
Summary of decision:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

POLICE
Prosecution

AND:

AH FOOK IOANE male of Leauva’a.
Defendant

Counsel:
F Ioane for prosecution
Defendant unrepresented

Sentence: 18 January 2021

S E N T E N C E

1. The defendant is charged that at Leauva’a on 04 February 2019 he entered the dwelling house of the complainant and stole two cellular phones to a total value of $429.00 being properties of the complainant also a male of the village of Leauva’a. Defendant has pleaded guilty to those charges of burglary and theft. The police summary of facts which the defendant has admitted says that he is a 23 year old married male of Leauva’a with young children. The summary also described the complainants house as an open faleapa.
2. Around 7:00 in the morning of the 04^th of February 2019 the defendant entered the complainants house while the complainant and his family were sleeping. It was there that he took the two mobile phones one a Bluesky touch screen phone valued at $79.00 and the other a Vodafone touch screen phone valued at $350.00 total value of the phones $429.00. The defendant left the premises and on discovery of the theft the complainant reported it to the police.
3. The summary records that the police recovered these phones and returned them to the complainant and that at first mention of the charges against the defendant he pleaded guilty to them: namely one count of burglary which carries a ten (10) year maximum penalty of imprisonment. And the other a count of theft which given the value of the phones carries a maximum penalty of one (1) year imprisonment. It also appears the defendant has a number of convictions and according to the record produced by prosecution this includes a seven and a half (7½) year imprisonment term for rape. In fact as pointed out by the Probation Office in their report this conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal: see Ioane v Attorney General [2015] WSCA 4. The prosecution will need to amend their previous conviction record accordingly.
4. The only relevant previous conviction that Ioane has is therefore one for trespass and theft in 2017 and also one for drunkenness as the defendant told the Probation Office he was intoxicated at the time of the present offences. E matuia la moliaga ia e faasaga i lau susuga Ah Fook. Masalo o lena ua e fa’afofoga e mafai ona e falepuipui mo se vaitaimi e le silia i le sefulu (10) tausaga i le solitulafono lenei o le talepe fale. E le o se solitulafono e tatau ona e manatu mama iai Ah Fook. Ma o lea foi e iai pei ona aumai i tolaulauga a le Ofisa o Leoleo o lea e iai ou solitulafono muamua i le ituaiga mea lava lea e tasi. E maitau atu foi e le Fa'amasinoga o lea ua fai sina uma talu ona taofia oe ona o le mataupu lea e sa’o? (Defendant: O lea lava). Ua savali nai masina, ou te manatua na taofia mai oe i le tausaga lea na te’a atu nei, e sa’o? (Defendant: o lea lava).
5. E ui lava la e matuia le solitulafono ma o lea e iai le solitulafono muamua ae a fua i le tulaga lea ua toe fa’afo’i meatotino a le sa a’afia i le mataupu lenei ma o lea foi ua aumai le fa’amaoniaga mai le Ofisa Fa'anofo Va'ava'aia ua mae’a ona toe teuteu le tou mataupu ma toe fa’alelei, fa’atasi ma le tulaga lena o lena ua e silafia le faigata o le fa’asalaga e mafai ona oo iai pe a e toe faia se mea fa’apenei. O lea e mafai ona tu’u atu se avanoa mo le mataupu nei i le aso. O le a le fa’asala oe ile falepuipui ae Ah Fook o le avanoa lena e tapuni loa le faitotoa o le Fa'amasinoga uma foi ma le avanoa, ua e malamalama? (Defendant: O lea lava).
6. Fa’aaoga lelei le avanoa lea e tuu atu ia oe. O lea o le a tu’u atu oe i lalo o le va’ava’aiga a le Ofisa Fa'anofo Va'ava'aia mo se sefulu lua (12) masina. Tu’utu’uga fa’apitoa o lou fa’anofo va’ava’aia e tatau ona tuli ou itula faigaluega e lua sefulu (20) itula faigaluega i le moliaga e tasi. O lona uiga e lua moliaga e fa sefulu (40) itula e te galue fua ai mo le manuia lautele o le atunuu i lalo o le va’ava’aiga a le Ofisa Fa'anofo Va'ava'aia, e fa’atonu atu lava e ofisa lau susuga poo le a le taimi e te alu atu e tuli ou itula usita’i lelei iai.
7. Tulaga fa’apitoa lona lua e tatau ona e auai i polokalame lea pei ona fa’ata’atia mai e le Ofisa Fa'anofo Va'ava'aia le polokalame lea a le Salvation Army mo laau fa’asaina ma tagata maua i le fa’ama’i lea o le inu ava ae le pulea amio, pei o le fa’ama’i lena lea e tau maua ai lau susuga. E talitonu la le Fa'amasinoga e aoga le polokalame lea mo le agai i luma o lou soifuaga ma le tausiga o lau fanau ma lou aiga. E fa’atonu atu e le Ofisa poo le a le taimi ma aso e te alu atu e fa’atino ai le polokalame lea.
8. Ma le vaega lona tolu usita’i i nisi tu’utu’uga e tu’u atu e le Ofisa i lou lipoti i le ofisa ma lou saini ma vaega fa’apena ao ei lalo o le va’ava’aiga a le ofisa. Aua e te alu i se mea lua te lei feiloai ma le sui lea o le ofisa e fai se lua tala ma fa’amalamalama atu nisi tu’utu’uga mo le taimi lea e te fa’a-nofo va’ava’ia ai. Ua e malamalama i le fa’aiuga? (Defendant: O lea lava lau afioga). Aua le toe faia nei amio fa’avalevalea fa’apea, a fa’apea e le mafai ona taumafa le ava ma pulea au amio e manaia a le ava Samoa e leai a seisi e loka pe a ona i le ava Samoa, aua e ona filemu a ma moe ae sili ga tu’u le ava palagi e le aoga le ava palagi mo lau susuga. O le fautuaga lena a le Fa'amasinoga i lau susuga Ah Fook.
9. O lou fa’anofo va’ava’aia fa’atoa amata pe a maea ona tuli lou fa’asalaga o loo e nofo sala ai nei.
10. Just for the record I would also like to thank the Probation Office for the very comprehensive pre-sentence report and also the work they have put into this case. I have found it most useful especially in relation to correcting the previous conviction record for this particular offender.
    

JUSTICE NELSON