"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act 1, Scene 4).

This famous line implies that a situation is corrupt, suspicious, or fundamentally wrong, often highlighting hidden moral or political decay within a system.

The line is spoken by Officer Marcellus to Horatio after the ghost of the dead King appears to them at Elsinore Castle.

It refers to the corruption brought about by King Claudius murdering his brother (the former King), taking the throne, and marrying his sister-in-law, Queen Gertrude.

 It serves as an indicator of the pervasive theme of rot, disease, and imbalance in the play.

Today, it is used to describe a sense of unease, suggesting something "fishy," or corrupt in an organisation or government.

The phrase is sometimes quoted to suggest a situation is shady or that a "cover-up" is taking place.

Compare that to a recent finding by Judge Talasa Atoa Saaga in our District Court.

"This case has demonstrated that the Ministry in the hands of a few has taken on a new life of its own, exercising unchecked power in determining which cases were pursued, which were ignored; who was listened to and who was silenced, and what truths were acknowledged or conveniently ignored.

"By taking such action, the ministry has trampled upon the integrity and reputation of the ministry, which was built upon the lives and sacrifices of former commissioners and police officers," the judge said.

“In covering up their inaction and extending preferential treatment, they have dragged every police officer into the mire of their failures, placing a stain upon the uniform that signifies the respect and the trust that this nation has entrusted to every police officer,” she said.

The case discussed was that against Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa and other defendants on charges of defamation and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The case did not involve a ghost, but it did involve a death, the unsolved hit-and-run death of a student five years ago.

 The Prime Minister was found not guilty.

On the unresolved hit-and-run accident that killed the young university student on 21 April 2021, the judge said that it was sanctioned by the Ministry of Police and supported by a Cabinet Minister and an Associate Minister.

She noted that the request by the former Associate Minister of Police, Fepuleai Faimata Sua, for the case file was “inappropriate.”

“However, the sanctioning of the investigation by the Ministers ought to have triggered a comprehensive investigation into the unresolved matter, which was by that stage, a cold case,” she said.

She also noted that the failure of the Police Commissioner to order an investigation into the assassination plot against the two cabinet Ministers is concerning for a top law officer of the Ministry that has been entrusted with the protection of the nation.

The assassination plot was against former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, which involved the extradition of an alleged offender from abroad, but offered only a police officer to drive the targeted ministers.

“To offer only a provision of a police officer as a driver, while disregarding the need for a proper investigation, is a response that I regard as wholly inadequate and reflective of a serious failure to address the matter,” said Judge Saaga.

Judge Saaga believes the only step forward for the unresolved hit-and-run case is an independent investigation.

The Member of Parliament for Faleata 3 Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi, accused of a plot to assassinate the two cabinet Ministers, has always maintained his innocence, and Judge Saaga believes that this is the only way Leala and any other MP or individual accused can finally be cleared of any responsibility, which is through an independent investigation.

A report must also be published after the investigation.

“Even if it yields no new results," the judge said, " the sons and daughters of this nation can rest assured that their lives are precious and that the leaders of this nation will leave no stone unturned in seeking justice for the atonement of their blood,” said Judge Saaga

The Opposition Human Rights Protection Party.(HRPP) has been reported to be preparing an appeal against Judge Sa'aga's decision.