Police investigate witnesses non-appearance to testify in Court

By Lagi Keresoma

APIA, SAMOA – 19 JULY 2022: Police are investigating why 10 witnesses in an attempted murder case did not turn up to testify in Court early this month.

Their non-appearances resulted in prosecution having no case to present and the Court dismissed the charge against the defendant, former Toa Samoa prop Tagaloa Maugaloto Palu.

The Police Commissioner Auapa’au Logoitino Filipo confirmed the investigation during a press conference late yesterday evening.

“If the investigations find there was no valid reasons why they did not turn up in Court, then they should be charged,” said Auapa’au.

The charge against Tagaloa stemmed from an incident at the fish market in 2019 where he used a machete to attack two brothers, then went and surrendered himself to police.

The incident was live streamed by a witness and went viral on social media.

Due to the COVID-19 lock downs, the matter had been rescheduled several times, with a set date for hearing early this month

However, none of the witnesses even the witness who filmed the incident turned up although they have all been informed by police of the date and time of the hearing.

Auapa’au said his concern is when matters like this happen resulting in the public losing trust in the police.

“Personally, the emphasis should be placed upon upgrading and developing police core functions because this is where they fail. We need to look at methods of developing their skills to avoid such matters from happening again,” said Auapa’au.

He could not disclose the number of cases dismissed by the Court because of lack of evidence, but did confirm that there have been cases of such nature.

The same issue is also a concern to the Minister of Police & Prisons, Faualo Harry Schuster who urged the Ministry to bear in mind that the public relies on them to deliver their best in serving the country.