Etuate Lavulavu Photo: Facebook
The judge who convicted two former Tonga cabinet ministers of corruption and fraud has been taken to task by the country's Court of Appeal.
The Appeal judges have this week quashed the convictions of married couple Etuate and 'Akosita Lavulavu.
They had been jailed last year for six years after charges they had fraudulently claimed $US250,000 in government funding given to their private school, "Unuaki 'O Tonga Royal Institute, to cover student transition.
'Akosita Lavulavu Photo: VNP / Daniela Maoate-Cox
The school had claimed in 2013 to have 255 eligible students when there were only six; in 2014 the school claimed for 416 students when there were only nine; and in 2015 they claimed for 271 students when there was only four eligible.
But the Tonga Court of Appeal judges overturned the verdict, finding the judge who sentenced the couple had not acquitted himself in an impartial manner as our Tonga correspondent, Kalafi Moala, explains.
"They said that despite the fact there was evidence that could have found them guilty and sentenced, they felt that because it was an unfair trial, they were to rule against the judge and the judgement. Therefore, the conviction and the sentencing were quashed," he said.
The Court of Appeal ordered the case back to the Supreme Court for retrial.