MR RAFTERY: Any reason why you can recall it in such detail, eight months later?

THE INTERPRETER: Because I was the one that was driving the vehicle.

MR RAFTERY: And how come you can remember in such detail journeys that were otherwise not particularly significant?

THE INTERPRETER: Because I was the one that was driving the car.

MR RAFTERY: Have you been assisted in your memory by talking to your sister, Amy, or any other member of your family?

THE INTERPRETER: No.

MR RAFTERY: So you've never talked to anyone - in your family, that is; it is not the lawyer I'm talking about - but anyone, about that week that the Suzuki was rented?

THE INTERPRETER: No.

MR RAFTERY: So this is all entirely the product of your own memory?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: When were you first asked to remember the details?

THE INTERPRETER: As I have stated, I was the one that was driving the vehicle, and I should remember it.

MR RAFTERY: I'll ask the question again; please listen. When were you first asked to remember the details?

 

[COUNSEL TO HIS HONOUR]

 

MR RAFTERY: Were you asked by anyone to recall the events in relation to that Suzuki before you came into Court yesterday afternoon?

THE INTERPRETER: No.

MR RAFTERY: So that means that, when Mr Toailoa asked you those questions yesterday afternoon, it must have come as a complete surprise to you?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: And so, at that instant, with no notice, and no warning whatsoever, you could recall the details of the movement of that Suzuki eight months ago. Is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: No.

MR RAFTERY: So if it didn't come as a surprise, you must have been aware that you were going to be asked those questions.

THE INTERPRETER: Only yesterday, when I was asked by the lawyer; yes, sir.

MR RAFTERY: So, therefore, it must have come as a surprise to you, if you were asked those questions for the first time yesterday by the lawyer.

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: You've told my learned friend yesterday that, when you were talking to the police last year, you didn't tell them the truth about the gun that you were telling us about in Court yesterday. Is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: No.

 

[COUNSEL TO HIS HONOUR]

 

MR RAFTERY: And after you had described in evidence yesterday what you'd done with the gun, you were asked this question by Mr Toailoa: "Did you tell the police anything about this gun that you had hidden?" And you said, "No." Were you giving a truthful answer yesterday?

THE INTERPRETER: That was my answer, "No, I did not tell the police anything about the gun."

MR RAFTERY: And was that a truthful answer that you gave yesterday about that?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: So, what you were telling us was that, in effect, last year you hadn't told the truth to the police about the gun. Isn't that right?

THE INTERPRETER: That is correct.

MR RAFTERY: Why didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: Because of my love for my brother Tise. He told me not to tell anybody.

MR RAFTERY: And so you kept this a complete secret from everybody, did you?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: Including your father?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: In fact, it was your father who asked you and Fiavivini to go to Alatise to find out where he'd buried the gun, and for you to go and re-bury it, wasn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: That is wrong, sir.

MR RAFTERY: On the night of the 16th, in other words, the night that Luagalau was murdered, did you see Alatise at the Penisula?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: When?

THE INTERPRETER: About 8.

MR RAFTERY: Are you sure about that?

THE INTERPRETER: I am not sure about the time. I said it was somewhere around 8.

MR RAFTERY: Maybe a few minutes before, or a few minutes after, is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: But within that sort of time bracket, is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: As I had said, I am not sure about the time, sir, but it was around that time, sir, around 8.

MR RAFTERY: Maybe five or 10 minutes before, or maybe five or 10 minutes after, that sort of rough time bracket, is that what you're talking about?

THE INTERPRETER: I am not sure of the time, sir, but it was some time like that.

MR RAFTERY: And you just saw him for how long?

THE INTERPRETER: For a brief while, sir, because I was assisting in serving the beer at the Penisula.

MR RAFTERY: How long is a brief while?

THE INTERPRETER: About one minute.

MR RAFTERY: And what was he doing?

THE INTERPRETER: I did not know what he was doing.

MR RAFTERY: Where was he when you saw him?

THE INTERPRETER: Behind the band's room.

MR RAFTERY: Was he listening to music, or was he drinking, or what?

THE INTERPRETER: I did not know that, I did not ask him.

MR RAFTERY: Did you see him drinking?

THE INTERPRETER: No, I did not see that.

MR RAFTERY: Did you see him again that night?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: When?

THE INTERPRETER: Back there, sir.

MR RAFTERY: The same place?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: So he hadn't moved since the last time you saw him, is that right, as far as you could see?

THE INTERPRETER: I did not know that.

MR RAFTERY: No, but as far as you saw, he was in exactly the same position as he was when you last saw him, is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: How long did you see him for on that occasion?

THE INTERPRETER: The second time he has just returned, and he asked that he be taken home.

MR RAFTERY: And so did you take him home?

THE INTERPRETER: He said he wanted to go to Vaovai to get some money for the Sunday to'onai.

MR RAFTERY: So, did you take him to Vaovai for that purpose?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: And how long does that journey take at that time of night, from Mulinuu to Vaovai?

THE INTERPRETER: I did not know the duration of that trip, sir.

MR RAFTERY: How long does it take, on average?

THE INTERPRETER: I do not know that, sir.

MR RAFTERY: Well, you were doing this journey on an almost daily basis when you were renting the Suzuki, or your sister was. How come you don't know the length of time it takes to go from Apia to Vaovai?

THE INTERPRETER: Because I never timed the time when I travelled, sir.

MR RAFTERY: And so you haven't a clue, is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

 

[COUNSEL TO HIS HONOUR]

 

MR RAFTERY: What time did you go to Vaovai?

THE INTERPRETER: It was after 10, going to 11.

MR RAFTERY: And it would take about 40 minutes, wouldn't it, to go to Vaovai, approximately?

THE INTERPRETER: I don't know.

MR RAFTERY: And then you have to - you spent a bit of time at Vaovai, and Alatise said he wasn't coming back with you; and then you went back to Mulinuu. Is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: When we went there, we did not find my father there. We were told that he had come to the HRPP party, and Tise said that he will remain there at Vaovai, so we came back.

MR RAFTERY: So that that time away from the Penisula at Mulinuu would have been anything between an hour and an hour and a half, wouldn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: I am not sure of the time.

MR RAFTERY: When you spoke to the police last July, you told them this, didn't you:

It was almost 11 pm that night that Alatise asked me to go to Vaovai - to go with him to Vaovai.

Isn't that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: So you wouldn't have been back at Mulinuu until some time after 12, would you?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: And we've heard from Eseta that she and her husband - your brother, Siaosi - took you home - that is, to Malie - shortly after 12 o'clock. Is she right about that?

THE INTERPRETER: Correct.

MR RAFTERY: And Eseta described you, Fiavivini, and Base, as being drunk up to your neck, and not in - - - 

THE INTERPRETER: Yes, drunk up to the neck at the time we went home.

MR RAFTERY: And not in any fit condition to drive.

THE INTERPRETER: Sir, that was why the vehicle was given to my brother to drive, because I was drunk and could not drive the car.

MR RAFTERY: So had you been drinking on the journey to and from Vaovai, is that what you're telling us?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: All the time?

THE INTERPRETER: I am not sure about the time, sir, but I am definite I was drinking on the way and back.

MR RAFTERY: Just on the way back, was it?

THE INTERPRETER: And on the way, sir.

MR RAFTERY: And you were just filling up the neck, to and fro to Vaovai, is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: No.

MR RAFTERY: So what were you doing? Are you telling us the truth at all about this, or are you just making it up as it goes along?

THE INTERPRETER: No, I am telling the truth, sir, of what happened.

MR RAFTERY: Last night, when I asked you to get your licence for today, you promised you would, didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: You said I promised, I never promised.

MR RAFTERY: Well, can you remember what I asked you last night?

THE INTERPRETER: You asked for my licence.

MR RAFTERY: I said this to you, just to remind you, "I don't imagine you've got your driving licence on you, have you?" And you said "No". "Could you bring it with you tomorrow, because I might want to ask you some questions about it?" And you said, "All right, sir." So wasn't that promising me that you'd be bringing your driving licence to Court this morning?

THE INTERPRETER: I did not swear on oath that I will bring my licence.

MR RAFTERY: What did you do when you came into the witness-box yesterday, when the Bible was given to you by the police officer?

THE INTERPRETER: The oath, sir.

MR RAFTERY: And you were still on oath when you were answering those questions to me, weren't you?

THE INTERPRETER: You asked me, you said that I promised to bring my licence. I never promised to bring my licence.

MR RAFTERY: What did you think you were doing when you said, in answer to my question, "Will you bring your licence with you tomorrow?" "Yes, I will."

THE INTERPRETER: It was just a question so that I would be able to come this morning and inquire if I have any rights about that.

MR RAFTERY: You didn't tell us at all yesterday, "But I can't, because I haven't got one", did you?

THE INTERPRETER: Correct.

MR RAFTERY: So you were lying to us, in effect, weren't you?

THE INTERPRETER: I am not lying.

MR RAFTERY: And you were lying because the oath that you took, it's quite clear from your most recent answer, means nothing to you at all, does it?

THE INTERPRETER: It's important.

 

[HIS HONOUR TO COUNSEL]

 

HIS HONOUR: Yes, Mr Toailoa, any re-examination?

MR TOAILOA: No, your Honour.

HIS HONOUR: Do you ask that the witness be released?

MR TOAILOA: Yes, please.

HIS HONOUR: Any objection, Mr Epati?

MR EPATI: None, sir.

HIS HONOUR: Mr Raftery?

MR RAFTERY: No, your Honour.

HIS HONOUR: Pasikale, you have finished giving your evidence, and you are no longer required as a witness, and you may step out of the witness-box and leave the Courtroom, if you wish.

THE INTERPRETER: Thank you.

 

<THE WITNESS WITHDREW [10.06am]

 

HIS HONOUR: Mr Toailoa.

MR TOAILOA: I call Fiavivini.

HIS HONOUR: Is he your last witness?

MR TOAILOA: Yes, your Honour.

 

<FIAVIVINI ALIIVAA, sworn [10.07am]

 

<EXAMINATION-IN-CHIEF BY MR TOAILOA

 

MR TOAILOA: Could you give the Court your full name?

THE INTERPRETER: Fiavivini Aliivaa.

MR TOAILOA: And where do you live?

THE INTERPRETER: Malie.

 

[HIS HONOUR TO THE WITNESS]

 

MR TOAILOA: Could you give your age and your occupation, please?

THE INTERPRETER: 25 years, sir, unemployed.

MR TOAILOA: Some time last year, around July, were you working at Leafa Vitale's kava plantation at Vaovai?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: And how long did you work in that kava plantation for?

THE INTERPRETER: From the time the kava plantation started, to the time the incident occurred.

MR TOAILOA: The incident that you are referring to is which one?

THE INTERPRETER: The death of Luagalau.

MR TOAILOA: So you can recall that day?

THE INTERPRETER: 16 July.

MR TOAILOA: You can recall the events of that day, is that correct?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: Okay. Now, I'm not going to ask you about the events of that day, but I want to ask you about the events of Tuesday, which is four days after that day. Now, do you recall that Tuesday?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes, sir.

MR TOAILOA: Where were you on that Tuesday?

THE INTERPRETER: I was at Malie.

MR TOAILOA: Do you recall seeing Alatise at Malie on that day?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: And did you have any discussions with Alatise on that day?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: There was you, Alatise, and anybody else?

THE INTERPRETER: With Pasikale, sir.

MR TOAILOA: Now, can you tell the Court what you can recall of that discussion with Alatise?

THE INTERPRETER: Alatise came to the two of us, and he told the two of us to go to Vaovai, and he also told us not to let Leafa or his wife know what he had done - that he had shot Luagalau.

MR TOAILOA: Okay. Anything else said by Alatise?

THE INTERPRETER: He told us that he was the one that went and committed the incident, and he also told us not to let anyone else in our family know about the incident; that we were the first people that he had informed about this.

MR TOAILOA: Now, you say that he mentioned to you the gun. What did he want you and Pasikale to do with this gun?

THE INTERPRETER: He told us to go and hide the gun at a far away place, and that nobody should find it.

MR TOAILOA: And did you agree to do that for him?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: And did you do that?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: Now, am I correct that, subsequently, you were interviewed by the police?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: And did you tell them anything about the gun?

THE INTERPRETER: On the first day that we were taken, we were asked about the gun, and I lied to them and said that we did not have a gun.

MR TOAILOA: Yes. Was there a second time that you were asked?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: And what did you tell the police on that occasion?

THE INTERPRETER: I also told the police that the gun is not with us.

MR TOAILOA: And was there a third occasion when you were interviewed again?

THE INTERPRETER: No.

MR TOAILOA: Did you, at any stage, tell the police where the gun was?

THE INTERPRETER: In the second interview.

MR TOAILOA: What did you tell the police?

THE INTERPRETER: On the second occasion, I was unable to continue lying, because my younger brother, Pasikale, was scared and he was threatened by the police, and he told me that I should tell the police where the gun was.

MR TOAILOA: And did you also assist the police in pointing out the location of where the gun was hidden?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: You accompanied them in their journey to bring the gun, is that correct?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: Now, after that Tuesday that I was referring you to, when was the next time, during that week or towards the end of that week, that you came to see Alatise again?

THE INTERPRETER: Sir, on that Sunday, we were at the village at Vaovai, and we came to buy some bread. We went for a ride and we came across Alatise at where they had the fellowship. And he asked me if Leafa had known about what had happened. We told him, no, that we had not related to anybody what had happened, neither was the gun made known to anybody and where we had hidden the gun, sir, was not told to anybody.

MR TOAILOA: Did he say anything else?

THE INTERPRETER: And he asked us if where we had hidden the gun was far. I told him that we had hidden the gun at where the kava plantation is. And then he told us to go and hide the gun at a far away place where nobody would be able to know where we had hidden it.

MR TOAILOA: And did you do that?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR TOAILOA: Thank you. I have no further questions, your Honour.

HIS HONOUR: Mr Epati?

MR EPATI: I have no questions, thank you.

HIS HONOUR: Mr Raftery?

<CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR RAFTERY [10.19am]

 

MR RAFTERY: You and Pasikale, when you buried the gun, you buried it on two separate occasions, is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: And, on both those occasions, you knew that you were hiding the weapon that had been used to murder Luagalau, didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: And that was exactly why you were hiding it, wasn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: Sir, the reason why we were hiding it was because of the instruction from the older brother, Tise.

 

[HIS HONOUR TO COUNSEL]

 

MR RAFTERY: And from what you tell us, Fiavivini, you knew full well, and Pasikale must have known full well, because you were both told at the same time by Alatise, that this was the murder weapon that you were being asked to bury. That's right, isn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: Sir, I would like to know if I will not be involved, sir, if I answer that question.

MR RAFTERY: Well, you are involved, aren't you, on the evidence you've come to Court to give to us, isn't that right?

 

 

THE INTERPRETER: I'm referring to a charge. Will I not be charged because of this?

MR RAFTERY: You know you might well be charged, don't you, because you have come here to tell us, in Court, that you deliberately hid material evidence in the prosecution of this offence, didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: Sir, yes, I knew that was the gun that was given to us by Tise to be hidden, and I also knew that that was the gun that Tise used to commit the incident.

MR RAFTERY: To commit murder, isn't that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: And, knowing that, you deliberately dug a hole to hide it from anybody, didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

 

[HIS HONOUR TO COUNSEL]

 

HIS HONOUR: Fiavivini, if, in answering this or any further questions from Mr Raftery, you consider that you may incriminate yourself, that is to say make yourself liable for some criminal prosecution, it is your legal right to decline to answer, and all you need say is, if exercising that right, "I decline to answer." On the other hand, you may wish to continue answering the questions in the way that you have, in which case, notwithstanding the advice I have given, you should answer the question. Do you understand?

THE INTERPRETER: Thank you, sir.

MR RAFTERY: You knew, didn't you, that this was a very major murder inquiry in Samoa; isn't that right?

THE INTERPRETER: I don't think I can answer that question.

MR RAFTERY: Is that because you think it might incriminate you, is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: When you hid the gun, what else did you hide along with it?

THE INTERPRETER: See, there were two guns - the big gun and the small gun - that were in the bag, together with a rosary and some ammunition. They were all inside that bag.

MR RAFTERY: And were they in the ground when you first dug up the gun?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: When you next saw Alatise, did you ask him about them, and where they came from, these other - this other gun, and the bag and the rosary?

THE INTERPRETER: No, I did not ask Alatise. All Alatise did was to tell us to go, bring the gun that was behind the house at Vaovai, and go and hide that gun. But we did not ask.

MR RAFTERY: So where was the gun behind the house at Vaovai?

THE INTERPRETER: Back at where there was grass. People would not be able to access it.

MR RAFTERY: Was it buried in the ground, or was it just lying there somewhere?

THE INTERPRETER: It was buried by Alatise, but in a very shallow hole, sir.

MR RAFTERY: From what you've told us, as has Pasikale before you, you were told to bury a gun, the gun that had been used to murder Luagalau. That's correct, isn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: And you've told us that, when you dug it up, you found a second gun, a handgun, there, in a bag with the rosary beads. Is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: But you were not sufficiently curious at all ever to ask Alatise about it. Is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: I did not ask Alatise, but I believe they were all the guns that Alatise took.

MR RAFTERY: But you've only ever told us that he told you about one gun. Are you now saying he told you about more than one gun?

THE INTERPRETER: I did not say that there was one gun. I said there was a gun, but I didn't say there was only one gun.

MR RAFTERY: "A gun" implies one, doesn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: That I do not know, sir.

MR RAFTERY: In recounting the conversation with Alatise, you never used the plural "guns", did you?

THE INTERPRETER: I said "guns".

MR RAFTERY: Are you telling us the truth?

THE INTERPRETER: Sir, that is why I swear on the Bible to tell the truth.

MR RAFTERY: So are you saying, when it is being translated to us as "gun", singular, by the Registrar, on each occasion he has got it wrong? Is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: Do you speak any English?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: Well, you will be aware that no one in this Court leapt up to say, "The Registrar isn't translating it correctly", did they?

THE INTERPRETER: I have stated that Tise told us to go and hide the gun, but I did not know whether there were one or two guns.

MR RAFTERY: And the reason why that is important, I suggest to you, is that it wasn't Tise who asked you to do that; it was Leafa.

 

[COUNSEL TO HIS HONOUR]

 

MR RAFTERY: I will come back to the question. It was Leafa who asked you to go and bury the gun, wasn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: Leafa did not tell the two of us to go and bury a gun. It was Tise that told us to go and bury the gun.

MR RAFTERY: And you two went to Alatise and asked him where he had buried the gun, because Leafa wanted it re-buried. That's right, isn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: No.

MR RAFTERY: Just so that we can clear up any suggestion that I've misled you about the evidence, this was during the cross-examination of Alatise by Mr Toailoa, when he was asking about you and Pasikale, and whether he hadn't told you to bury the gun. And his reply to those assertions being made by Mr Toailoa, at page 1408, was this:

They said -

that is, you and Pasikale -

they had been sent by the old man -

that is, Leafa -

to inquire as to where I have hidden the guns.

Right? That was the evidence that was given about it, and it is on that that I base those assertions, all right?

THE INTERPRETER: I believe that witness is lying.

MR RAFTERY: You have explained that you did eventually tell the police where you had buried the gun - its final resting place. That's right, isn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: Would it be right to say that, up until that time, all that had said to the police were lies?

THE INTERPRETER: What statements are you referring to?

MR RAFTERY: Those that you made to the police up until the time that you told them where the gun was buried.

THE INTERPRETER: Sir, the only questions that I was asked by the officers was, "Where is the gun?" "Where have you hidden the gun?" I lied to them, sir.

MR RAFTERY: So all that you said to them about the gun, before a later time when you eventually told them where it was hidden, were lies, weren't they?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: But not just about the gun, when you'd been asked about Alatise's movements on the night of 16 July, you had given a statement to suggest that you'd been drinking with him all evening at the Penisula, didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: We were drinking with Tise at the Penisula that night, sir.

MR RAFTERY: Yes, but we know he went and committed a murder, and you know that too, don't you?

THE INTERPRETER: I did not know where Tise had gone to that night.

MR RAFTERY: But, you know now he went and committed a murder, don't you?

THE INTERPRETER: We all know that now, sir.

MR RAFTERY: And you knew it when you were talking to the police, didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: No.

MR RAFTERY: Alatise, according to your own evidence, had told you he'd committed a murder, hadn't he, on Tuesday, 20 July last year? Were you lying about that as well?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes, that is correct, sir.

MR RAFTERY: So, when you were talking to the police, you knew Alatise - - - 

MR TOAILOA: Could the answer be translated in full, please?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes, that was correct, that was Tuesday that Tise talked to us.

MR RAFTERY: So, when you were talking to the police, you knew full well that Alatise was the murderer, didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: I cannot answer that question.

MR RAFTERY: Is that because of fear it might incriminate you?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

 

[HIS HONOUR TO COUNSEL]

 

MR RAFTERY: Because when you spoke to the police on 31 July about Alatise's and your movements on 16 July, you told them, didn't you, that you and he had been drinking at the Penisula since about 6 pm, at the back of the band, and that at about 11 pm, Alatise said he wanted a lift to Vaovai. Now, that's right, isn't it? That's what you were telling the police then, isn't it?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: So, in effect, you were trying to give him a false alibi, weren't you?

THE INTERPRETER: Can we have the question again?

HIS HONOUR: So, in effect, you were trying to give Alatise a false alibi?"

 

[COUNSEL TO HIS HONOUR]

MR RAFTERY: In effect, what you were doing was saying he was with you at the Penisula, when you knew, in fact, that he'd gone and committed a murder?

THE INTERPRETER: I cannot answer that question.

MR RAFTERY: All right. For the same reason as before, is that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: All right.

 

[HIS HONOUR TO COUNSEL]

 

MR RAFTERY: And the only reason, I suggest, why you eventually told some truth to the police on 5 August last year - that is when you told them where the gun was - was because, effectively, you and Pasikale had been talking about it, and said, "The game is up. The police know about our involvement. We might as well tell them". Isn't that correct?

THE INTERPRETER: Can we have the question again, sir?

MR RAFTERY: You told the police, on 5 August last year, where the gun was buried, didn't you?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: The police had already been searching there for two days - on 3 August and 4 August - digging up the ground inland, looking for the gun, hadn't they?

THE INTERPRETER: I did not know if the police came and dug up some areas, sir.

MR RAFTERY: And they were pressing you, and pressing Pasikale, to tell them where it was buried, weren't they?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: And they were telling you, weren't they, that they knew the two of you had buried the gun. Isn't that right?

THE INTERPRETER: The police came with a paper, and they said that we were going to be sent to gaol if we will not tell them where the gun was buried, and that was why my brother cried, and he said that we should tell where the gun was.

MR RAFTERY: Because they were refusing to accept the lies that the two of you had been telling them, weren't they, up until that point?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

MR RAFTERY: And, when the police were suggesting to you and Pasikale that the two of you had been lying, that was right, wasn't it, what the police were saying to you?

THE INTERPRETER: Very correct, sir.

MR RAFTERY: And that is the only reason that you eventually decided to tell the truth and show the police where the gun was hidden. Isn't that right?

THE INTERPRETER: Yes.

HIS HONOUR: Any re-examination?

MR TOAILOA: No, your Honour.

HIS HONOUR: Do you ask that the witness be released?

MR TOAILOA: Yes, please.

HIS HONOUR: I take it there is no objection?

MR EPATI: No objection.

HIS HONOUR: No, your Honour.

HIS HONOUR: Fiavivini, you have finished giving your evidence. You are no longer a witness in this trial, so you may leave the witness-box and the courtroom, if you wish.

THE INTERPRETER: Thank you, sir.

 

<THE WITNESS WITHDREW [10.55am]

 

MR TOAILOA: Your Honour, that is the evidence for the accused Leafa.

HIS HONOUR: The case for the accused Leafa. I propose, as indicated earlier, to adjourn until tomorrow morning at 9.30.

Gentlemen assessors, we have reached another milestone in this long trial. About a week ago, you heard stated by the prosecution words to the effect, "That is the case for the prosecution." That was an indication that the prosecution case had finished. A minute or two ago Mr Toailoa, on behalf of his client, indicated that, "That is the case for the accused Leafa." So we have now reached the stage in the trial that all the evidence that the prosecution wished to adduce has been received, and all the evidence that the accused Leafa wished to adduce has been received. It is now soon to be "over to the accused Toi", so to speak. But I do not propose to ask Mr Epati now anything about a possible case in defence by the accused Toi; I propose to ask him that tomorrow.

So the Court will shortly adjourn until tomorrow morning at 9.30. In a few minutes you will be asked to go back to the assessors' room, and shortly your transport will take you to your homes. I remind you once again about the importance of keeping an open mind, and also about not talking to anyone about this case. Mr Courts Officer, would you please take charge of the assessors.

 

ASSESSORS RETIRED [11.00am]

 

HIS HONOUR: Mr Registrar, would you please adjourn the Court until 9.30 tomorrow.

 

ADJOURNED TO 9.30 AM,

WEDNESDAY, 22 MARCH 2000 [11.01am]