Police v Logi [2021] WSSC 9 (25 February 2021)

SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Logi [2021] WSSC 9

Case name:	Police v Logi
Citation:	[2021] WSSC 9
Decision date:	25 February 2021
Parties:	POLICE (Prosecution) AND TUATUA FIU LOGI male of Saletagaloa Salelologa. (Defendant)
Hearing date(s):	-
File number(s):	S616/18, S618/18
Jurisdiction:	Criminal
Place of delivery:	Supreme Court of Samoa, Mulinuu
Judge(s):	Justice Nelson
On appeal from:
Order:
Representation:	L Faasii for prosecution T Leavai for defendant
Catchwords:	Theft as a servant -
Words and phrases:
Legislation cited:
Cases cited:
Summary of decision:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

POLICE
Prosecution

AND:

TUATUA FIU LOGI male of Saletagaloa Salelologa.
Defendant

Counsel:
L Faasii for prosecution
T Leavai for defendant

Sentence:

S E N T E N C E

1. The defendant has pleaded guilty to two (2) charges: firstly S616/18 that of Salelologa on 12^th August 2017 he did steal seventy (70) boxes of Pure Vailima beer to a total value of $5,446.00 properties of his employer Ah Fook Vailima Distributors at Salelologa. The second charge is S618/18 that at Salelologa on 17^th of February 2018 he did steal one hundred and thirty six (136) boxes of Vailima Lager to a total value of $10,540.00 properties of his employer Ah Fook Vailima Distributors of Salelologa.
2. The defendant is one of three people charged with these thefts but according to the file his two co-defendants have pleaded not guilty. The charge of theft as a servant which the defendant has pleaded guilty to carries a maximum penalty by law of ten (10) years in prison.
3. It is a sad reality in our country that this is one of the most prevalent offences in our community. As a result the court has evolved a sentencing policy whereby unless there are exceptional circumstances offenders are routinely imprisoned for committing this offence. In order to hold a defendant accountable for what he has done, in order to denounce his conduct as unacceptable and in order to deter him and others from this kind of behaviour. This is particularly so in cases involving theft of large amounts of monies or goods or in cases where there are serious aggravating factors.
4. Having examined the facts of Tuatuas case there do not appear to me to be any exceptional circumstances present. And the amount involved in this theft totals almost $16,000.00 worth of products. There is no question then that an imprisonment penalty is appropriate the only issue for me to decide is how long?
5. While the maximum is ten (10) years imprisonment the helpful list of authorities submitted by the prosecution shows start point for cases involving thefts of materials over $10,000.00 fall in the one (1) to four (4) and five (5) year range.
6. In this case it is well in excess of $10,000.00 I will therefore adopt a start point of four (4) years in prison. But there are mitigating factors that need to be taken into account as placed before the court and emphasised by the defendants lawyer.
7. The first factor in your favour Tuatua is you have a clean police record and a good pre-sentence report. For those factors I deduct six (6) months from your sentence.
8. There has also been an apology to the victim company which has been accepted and confirmed by them in their Victim Impact Report. For that matter I deduct a further six (6) months.
9. Your young age when you committed this offence of twenty (20) years is also a relevant consideration. That must be factored in. For that I will deduct a further six (6) months.
10. The final deduction you are eligible for is your guilty plea which has saved the courts time and resources and also indicates your remorse for what you have done. The normal deduction of that is one-quarter (¼) from the balance of your sentence which in this case is seven and a half (7½) months, that will also be deducted.
11. All these deductions total up to twenty-five and a half (25½) months deducted from your initial four (4) years start point, leaves a balance of twenty-two and a half (22½) months.
12. In examining the facts of your case it seems to me that you are the most junior of the three people alleged to be involved in this massive theft. A theft probably led by the more experience fifty-four (54) year old first defendant whose name is well-known to the court. That seems to indicate to me that you fell in with bad people and you were led astray by these older more experienced co-defendants. As a final deduction then I will remove four and half (4½) months from the balance of your sentence, reducing your sentence to eighteen (18) months in prison.
13. Your counsel has also correctly pointed out your eligibility for a further deduction and that is in relation to your testimony against your co-defendants. The problem with that is the trial in this matter has not occurred yet and I am not going to give credit for an event that may or may not happen. I can only say this, if it occurs I am prepared for the matter to be brought back to me and I will make the appropriate deduction.
14. The trial is scheduled according to the prosecution advice for March this year so it is not very far away. And as stated the matter can be brought back to me at that stage; but for the moment the final sentence as it stands after all deductions have been made is eighteen (18) months in prison in respect of these two charges.
15. Sa iai foi le taimi sa e nofo taofia ai a Tuatua? (Defendant: o lea lava). E fai foi le poloaiga a le Fa'amasinoga i le taimi lena sa e nofo taofia ai e tatau ona toese mai le sefulu valu (18) masina lea e fa’asala ai oe i le toese. Ma pei ona fa’ailoa atu i le tamaita’i loia, a fa’ataunuu lau molimau mo le Fa'amasinoga lea e loma i le masina fou, e mafai foi ona maua se fa’amama avega i lena mataupu. Ae le mafai ona fai i le taimi lenei ona e le’i taunuu. O lea ua fa’ailoa i le tamaitai loia, a mae’a ona fa’atino le tulaga lea e avanoa le Fa'amasinoga e toe aumai ai lau mataupu ma fai iai se fuafuaga i lea vaega. Ae mo le asō e sefulu valu (18) masina toese ai le taimi sa e nofo taofia ai e fa’atalitali ai le fa’aiuga o le mataupu.

JUSTICE NELSON