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Police v Lafoga [2015] WSSC 266 (3 August 2015)

SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Lafoga [2015] WSSC 266

THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA

HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

P O L I C E
Prosecution

AND:

Vise Lafoga,male of Vailoa, Salefu Mafoe, male of Vaitele.
Defendants

Counsel: B Faafiti-Lo Tam and Mr Tumua for the Prosecution

Defendants appear in Person
Sentence: 03 August2015

Oral Sentence of Justice E M Aitken

1. You have both pleaded guilty to a charge of burglary and a charge of theft and you were both acting together in the early hours of the morning of 27 May 2015.
2. Vise you went to the victim’s store and when you saw there was no one inside, you removed three or four louvers so that you could get into the shop. Salefu, you came along, you were acting as the look-out and that makes you guilty of the burglary as well. Together you stole a number of items of food and non-food products from the store, a total value of $283.00. As you were making off with the goods, a neighbor came out and you both dropped all of the stolen goods and ran to get away from the Police. So that means that all of the property was recovered and that is fortunate from your point of view and puts you in a slightly better position than if all the goods had disappeared.
3. Now the victim has been spoken to and she has provided a report. She has replaced the broken louvers. She was upset and saddened by your behavior because she did not expect something like that to happen to her. However, both of your families have met with her and apologized to her and she has accepted the families’ apology, and that is also lucky for you – that you have a forgiving victim.
4. I have looked at other cases of young men who come before the Court for burglary and theft. This is what I call a rather opportunistic or spur of the moment burglary of a commercial premise, where a relatively small amount of property was taken, all of which was returned. And a non-custodial sentence for a first offence of burglary is certainly recognized in some circumstances as being appropriate.
5. Now turning to each of you, Vise Lafoga you are 19 years old, you have previously been before the Court back in March, 2013 that was for an assault offence. You were sentenced to six months’ supervision and 60 hours’ community work. The probation officer in Court today has confirmed that you have completed that sentence satisfactorily. What concerns me is that alcohol was a factor in this offending – you had been drinking after you returned from fishing, you wanted more alcohol, and you had no money to buy the alcohol so you committed this offence. You have apologized in Court to me and you say this is the last time you appear. I am not sure I can believe you because I suspect you said the same thing the last time you were in Court.
6. Salefu Mafoe, you are also 19 years old. This is the first time you have appeared in Court. You expressed your remorse and you too promise me this will not happen again.
7. Now when I turn to decide what the appropriate penalty is, I see that you both been up at Tafaigata prison for nearly ten weeks and that is a long time for two young men, but it is plenty of time for you to understand just how awful it is to be in prison and to know exactly what to expect if you commit another offence.
8. Given your relatively young ages and the length of time in Tafaigata, I have decided that I can impose a community based sentence rather than a term of imprisonment. But you make sure that you understand that while a first time burglar might not go to prison, any further burglary or dishonesty offending is almost certain to bring with it a sentence of imprisonment.
9. So Vise Lafoga, you are convicted on both charges and sentenced now to
12 months of supervision, two conditions attached to that sentence;

1. You will complete 80 hours community work, and
2. You will complete an alcohol abuse program.

10. Salefu Mafoe, you are also convicted on both charges. You too are sentenced to 12 months supervision. You too will undertake an alcohol abuse program. I will not impose community work on you as this is your first offence it is Vise’s second offence. Make sure both of you complete that sentence without any breach whatsoever and make particularly sure that you will never do anything to put yourself back to this Court. You know now what will happen if you do.

• _________________________

JUSTICE E M AITKEN