Three young men from Malie were sentenced earlier this month after being jointly charged with aggravated burglary and theft in two separate incidents.

Amosa Leapai, Kancla Junior Tomasi Kanela and Faletolu Tanielu Letufuga's charges stemmed from incidents occurring between 23 November 2023 and 26 November 2023 involving aggravated burglary and theft at Vaitele-Fou and Mulivai. They all pleaded guilty.

The prosecution presented a summary of the events, which was acknowledged and accepted by all three defendants. 

The defendants unlawfully entered the victim's residence while the victim and his family were asleep during the night. Amosa Leapai used a kitchen knife to facilitate entry, with Kanela joining him inside the house, while Faletolu remained outside as a lookout. Together, Amosa and Kanela stole various items amounting to a total value of $16,854.95, including cash, as well as high-value items such as a laptop, mobile phones, and Bluetooth speaker. However, the police were only able to recover properties worth $6,300. 

Leapai, aged 24, had a history of previous convictions for similar offences, making him a repeat offender. According to the Pre-Sentence Report (PSR), Leapai was most recently sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment on 14 July 2022 and completed his sentence on 10 October 2023, only to commit the present offence a month later. 

Kanela is 21 years old while Faletolu is 23-years old. 

The Prosecution recommended a starting point of three to four years.

Supreme Court Judge, Justice Niavā Mata Tuatagaloa expressed grave concerns over the severity of the offenses and the disregard for the law demonstrated by the defendants.

After weighing the aggravating and mitigating factors, the court imposed sentences reflective of the seriousness of the offences. 

Justice Tuatagaloa concurred with the initial sentencing guideline of three and a half years or 42 months. 

For Leapai, Justice Tuatagaloa applied a 25 per cent discount of 12 months for his early guilty plea, the remaining sentence is 30 months or two years and 6 months. "Additionally, I will increase this by three months due to his continuous criminal behavior. "Leapai is convicted and sentenced as follows, to be served concurrently, minus any time already spent in custody. 

Similarly, a 25 per cent discount of 12 months was applied for Kapena, resulting in a final sentence of two years and 6 months to be served concurrently, minus any time already spent in custody. 

As for Faletolu, there was a deduction of 12 months made for being a first-time offender, with an additional six months deducted for his less active role in the offence and sentenced to two years.