Police v Matamua [2024] WSSC 143 (23 December 2024)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Matamua [2024] WSSC 143 (23 December 2024)

Case name:	Police v Matamua
Citation:	[2024] WSSC 143
Decision date:	23 December 2024
Parties:	POLICE (Informant) v RITA MATAMUA a.k.a LITA AUFALE TAUAILOTO, female of Fogapoa and Salelologa (Defendant)
Hearing date(s):
File number(s):	2024-05955
Jurisdiction:	Supreme Court – CRIMINAL
Place of delivery:	Supreme Court of Samoa, Mulinuu
Judge(s):	Justice Fepulea'i Ameperosa Roma
On appeal from:
Order:	You will serve the following sentences concurrently, less time spent in custody pending sentence: (a) On the two charges of burglary, you are convicted of each charge and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment; (b) On the one charge of theft committed on the 23rd March 2024 involving items with a total value of $14,177.00, you are convicted and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment; (c) On the second theft charge committed on the 31st December 2024 involving items with a total value of $770.00, you are convicted and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment; (d) On the charge of unlawful entry, you are convicted and also sentenced to 6 months imprisonment.
Representation:	L. Strickland for Prosecution A. Matalasi for defendant
Catchwords:	Theft as a Servant
Words and phrases:
Legislation cited:	Crimes Act 2013 ss. 161 & 165 (e).
Cases cited:
Summary of decision:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

P O L I C E

Informant

AND:

RITA MATAMUA a.k.a. LITA AUFALE TAUAILOTO female of Fogapoa and Salelologa.

Defendant

Counsel: L. Strickland for Prosecution

A. Matalasi for defendant

Sentence: 23 December 2024

SENTENCE

Charges

1. You appear this afternoon for sentence on 66 counts of theft as a servant. The maximum penalty for each charge is ten years imprisonment. Originally there were 139 charges which you denied. On the 27th November 2024 when the hearing was to take place, prosecution reduced the number of charges to 66. You then vacated your not guilty pleas substituted by guilty pleas to all 66.

Offending

2. At the material time you were employed by the victim corporation, EPC as Supervisor Customer Service, Debt Controlling and Invoicing for its Salelologa cashier branch. Your daily responsibilities included supervising the cashier receipting system, checking daily collections, preparing banking, posting manual receipts onto the system, carrying out the role of cashier when necessary, supervising customer services and preparing invoices and disconnection lists.
3. On 66 occasions between July 2016 and September 2019, you dishonestly manipulated the system and stole from your employer for personal use cash of varying amounts which ranged from $50 to $8,690.10. The particulars of each offending are set out in a table in prosecution’s summary of facts and annexed to my written remarks.
4. On each of the 66 occasions you received cheque payments from EPC consumers for services rendered, you omitted these cheque payments from the system and consumer accounts either in whole or partial amounts, then took cash in the sum of the cheque amounts omitted from the system from the daily collection without any authority. The unposted cheques were then used to cover up the cash amounts that you stole. The unposted cheques or variances of cheque amounts posted on the system only became apparent when reconciled against the EPC lodgement book of the banking which were prepared by you.
5. Your offending came to light when EPC noticed a considerable increase in arrears by several consumers who when contacted, informed EPC that all their bills had been paid and their accounts up to date.
6. An internal investigation revealed your offending, with the total amount stolen by you being $86,814.89. On the 17th March 2021 you were cautioned and charged by police.

The Victim

7. EPC highlights in the victim impact report the impact of your offending on its revenue and reputation. As a result of the investigation your immediate supervisor at Salelologa branch was also terminated for failing to effectively manage and supervise staff, and failing to discover your thefts. The report says that the total amount misappropriated according to the investigation is $347,951.14. I bear in mind that the total sum you are being sentenced on is $86,814.89. The report also confirms that you had paid $500 in restitution.

Aggravating Factors

8. I consider the following:
   • (i) breach of trust;
   • (ii) this was multiple offending involving 66 separate occasions over a 3 year period;
   • (iii) there were multiple consumers affected - you stole from payments by at least 22 individual and business consumers;
   • (iv) the amounts involved; the thefts were as high as $6,000 and $8,690 which are significant sums to take from the cash amount collections of any single day;
   • (v) there was a significant degree of premeditation in the offending and trying to avoid detection;
   • (vi) the total amount being $86,814.89;
   • (vii) the impact on the victim including the significant loss of revenue, costs of absorbing loss of consumer funds and time and resources committed to the investigation;
   • (viii) the prevalence of theft as a servant cases.

Mitigating Factors

9. I take into account:
   • (i) your pleas of guilty to the charges entered when prosecution withdrew some and leaving 66 remaining charges;

(ii) your personal circumstances – you are a 39 year old mother of three children. You have had a good education and employment including seven years at EPC which ended in your termination. I have also read the testimonials by Rev. Olive Samuelu of the EFKS Fogapoa; a friend of yours named Tofoipupu Usoalii Falefatu; and pulenuu of Fogapoa and Tuasivi. They speak of your good character and contribution to your village and the church. You are a first offender.

Discussion

10. Theft as a servant cases are serious because of the breach of trust involved and impact on the victim employers and community. And with its prevalence, it has long been the court’s policy to impose imprisonment as penalty unless there are exceptional circumstances, the length of the term dependent on the circumstances of each case. No such exceptional circumstances exist in your case.
11. A term of imprisonment is warranted because of the significant amount of money involved, length of time for which you continued to offend, the level of premeditation, and significant breach of trust given your position as supervisor.
12. Prosecution recommend a start point of six and a half years. Your counsel on the other hand submits that six years is an appropriate start point, which is not far off prosecution’s recommendation. I consider the circumstances of each of the authorities that both counsel refer to in their submissions. In terms of the amounts involved, the following is a summary:

,	Cases	Charges	Amount	Start point
1	Police v. Vito [2019] WSSC 39 (30/5/19)	1 Theft as a servant	$2,180	5 years
2	Police v. Brown [2019] WSSC 66 (14/11/19)	267 Theft as a servant 267 False Accounting over 2 years	$118,991.17	6 ½ years
3	Police v. Salanoa [2020] WSSC 74 (5/11/20)	11 Theft as a servant 8 Forgery	$358,940	7 years
4	Police v. Uaita [2024] WSSC 121 (26/11/24)	4 Theft as a servant 1 Obtaining by deception 5 Forgery	$11,178.37 obtaining & $9,898.20 theft	3 years
5	Police v. Siilata [2024] WSSC 118 (30/10/24)	3 Theft as a servant 2 Falsifying Accounts	$12,839.17	3 years 3 months
6	Police v. Faatafa [2019] WSSC 95 (07/06/19)	45 Theft as a servant	$57,000	5 years
7	Police v. Taito [2019] WSSC 50 (19/09/19)	1 Theft as a servant	$42,180	5 ½ years.

13. I also consider other cases including Police v. Esekia [2021] WSSC 87 (26/205/21) involving 156 charges of theft as a servant committed over 4 years of a total sum of $353,034.07, where the court adopted 8 years as starting point.
14. Considering the numbers of charges, the length of time that you committed the offences, the various sums involved and total amount stolen, the range of starting points adopted in the cases referred to, and the totality of your offending, I adopt six years as the appropriate start point.
15. From that term I make these deductions. For your personal circumstances including your first offender status I deduct nine months. For your remorse and testimonials in support of your character, I deduct nine months. I make a final deduction of 18 months for your guilty pleas to the charges. I make no deduction for the time you have been out on bail pending sentence as sought by your counsel. The end sentence is three years imprisonment.

Result

16. Oh each of the 66 charges of theft as a servant, you are convicted and sentenced to three years imprisonment. The sentences will be served concurrently.

JUSTICE ROMA

ANNEXURE 1 - PARTICULARS OF CHARGES

	Info Number	Date	Amount taken	Consumer
1	S762/21	6 Mar 18	2565.3	Apia Lua – Big Island
2	S675/21	5 Feb 19	630.6	Apia Lua – Big Island
3	676/21	9 Jun 18	2820.6	Apia Lua – Big Island
4	S767/21	9 Apr 19	2904.02	Apia Lua – Big Island
5	S768/21	9 Jul 18	500	Sleiman Vaai
6	S769/21	20 Jul 17	196	Laulualo Minimart
7	S750/21	16 Apr 19	600	Moelagi Susana Tiatia
8	S751/21	24 May 18	2425.1	Lagoto Hotels
9	S731/21	23 Apr 18	1207.2	Lagoto Hotels
10	S728/21	21 Aug 19	8690.1	Lagoto Hotels
11	S718/21	17 Aug 19	1444	Loli Osa/ Savaii Distr
12	S719/21	4 Feb 19	500	Don Bosco
13	S722/21	14 Jun 19	500	Rowlen Finance
14	S733/21	28 May 19	1118	O.N Sons Namulauulu
15	S742/21	9 Mar 18	600	Losalote
16	S743/21	6 May 18	300	Losalote
17	S745/21	8 Apr 19	1000	T & S Mariner
18	S746/21	7 May 19	1457.9	T & S Mariner
19	S760/21	19 Jun 19	1493.6	T & M Retzlaff
20	S761/21	19 Jun 19	1449	T & M Retzlaff
21	S770/21	3 Mar 18	200	Unknown customer
22	S777/21	7 Feb 18	3960	Unknown customer
23	S790/21	15 May 18	50	Poao Francis Hansel
24	S780/21	25 Jun 18	300	Patamea Primary School
25	S781/21	11 Aug 16	100	Oayku Nybzeb
26	S786/21	18 Apr 17	300	Sakalafai Variety
27	S787/21	7 Nov 17	423.3	Sakalafai Variety
28	S789/21	18 Jun 19	200	Amoa Lagoon Resort
29	S797/21	15 Mar 18	3584.1	Lusia Lagoon Chalet
30	S798/21	23 Apr 18	1931.6	Lusia Lagoon Chalet
31	S799/21	29 May 18	1488.02	Resort
32	S800/21	20 May 19	1373.4	Resort
33	S801/21	21 Feb 19	1570.8	Lusia Lagoon Chalet
34	S803/21	1 Aug 18	2689.6	Lusia Lagoon Chalet
35	S805/21	13 Sep 18	2580	Lusia Lagoon Chalet
36	S806/21	31 Oct 18	2585.9	Lusia Lagoon Chalet
37	S807/21	4 Sep 19	1720	Lusia Lagoon Chalet
38	S808/21	27 Feb 18	2500	Island Shopper
39	S809/21	6 May 18	2000	Island Shopper
40	S810/21	5 Jun 18	490	Island Shopper
41	S811/21	24 Oct 18	1000	Island Shopper
42	S813/21	18 Jul 18	490	Island Shopper
43	S814/21	15 Mar 18	1500	Island Shopper
44	S818/21	22 Aug 17	490	Island Shopper
45	S820/21	11 Apr 17	490	Island Shopper
46	S821/21	30 Mar 17	490	Island Shopper
47	S822/21	20 Mar 17	490	Island Shopper
48	S823/21	7 Mar 17	490	Island Shopper
49	S824/21	1 Mar 17	392	Island Shopper
50	S826/21	20 Feb 17	490	Island Shopper
51	S827/21	26 Oct 16	392	Island Shopper
52	S828/21	17 Oct 16	490	Island Shopper
53	S829/21	20 Oct 16	490	Island Shopper
54	S830/21	26 Sep 16	490	Island Shopper
55	S831/21	16 Aug 16	294	Island Shopper
56	S832/21	20 Jul 16	392	Island Shopper
57	S833/21	18 Jul 16	329	Island Shopper
58	S834/21	8 Jun 17	490	Island Shopper
59	S835/21	16 May 17	490	Island Shopper
60	S836/21	16 May 17	490	Island Shopper
61	S837/21	5 May 17	490	Island Shopper
62	S838/21	24 Apr 17	490	Island Shopper
63	S844/21	4 Jun 19	2036.2	Vaisala Hotel
64	S845/21	2 May 19	6171.3	Vaisala Hotel
65	S847/21	5 Apr 19	2544.8	Keith Martin Aganoa
66	S848/21	20 Feb 19	1902.45	Keith Martin Aganoa