of Convicted Official
p. 55 · Read in the full issue
Petition for the Release of Convicted Official
Nuku’Alofa, July 20.
A PETITION has been signed by many hundreds of people for the release under probation of T. T. Toutaiolepo.
He was formerly official interpreter and translator for the Supreme Court, Land Court, Police Court, Privy Council. Cab inet and Parliament, and was sentenced in June. 1946, to 18 months’ imprison ment for embezzlement of £152 of Gov ernment funds. Presiding Judge was J. B.
Thomson, Puisne Judge of Fiji, acting as Chief Justice of Tonga.
This petition is a clear indication of the trend of public opinion. It was dis closed at the hearing that by holding three, and later, four con-joint posts, whose combined salaries when they were held by separate officers, were about £630 annually, accused, whose salary range was £ll5/£175, was responsible for sav ing about £7,000 in salary to the Tonga Government during the 13 years of his service. He had unsuccessfully asked for increased salary on several occasions.
Another unusual fact which came to light at the trial was the failure to have accused’s books audited for four years.
This omission, as was rightly stressed by the defence, contributed in no small measure to the temptation offered to accused.
Since his offence was committed dur ing 1945, at the very zenith of the ex treme hardships created by the abnormal conditions of war time, it was stressed that the feeding and clothing of his large family—a wife and five growing child ren—on his meagre income was, indeed, a serious problem—a problem so grave that it preyed heavily on his mind to
such an extent that his mental and moral outlook was affected.
Finally, as a precedent on which a strong plea for probation was made, a case of a high chief was cited. This high chief, while Governor of the Ha’apai Group, was convicted of larceny of pub lic funds in 1929 and was placed under two years’ probation.
In Toutaiolepo’s favour (it was point ed out) that although the two cases are parallel, they differ in circumstances. The strong temptation and extreme hardships which accused had to face did not exist in the case of the Governor. Conse quently the sentence created, unfortun ately, a wrong but harmful impression on the public—namely, that although there is one law for both chiefs and commoners, yet it is enforced with leni ency in the case of the former, but strictly in that of the latter.