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Police v Siilata [2024] WSSC 118 (30 October 2024)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Siilata [2024] WSSC 118 (30 October 2024)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

P O L I C E

Informant

AND:

MARYLYN FENIKA SIILATA female of Neiafu Savaii

Defendant

Counsel: V. Afoa for Prosecution
T. Toailoa for Defendant

Sentence: 30 October 2024

SENTENCE

Charges

1. You appear for sentence on five charges - two joint charges of theft as a servant, two corresponding charges of falsifying accounts, and an individual charge of theft as a servant. For theft as a servant, the maximum penalty is ten years imprisonment. For the charge of falsifying accounts, the maximum penalty is seven years imprisonment.
2. The record shows you had entered a guilty plea to the one individual charge of theft as a servant but denied the other charges. On the 24th July when the hearing was to commence, you substituted your not guilty with guilty pleas.

Offending

3. From the prosecution summary, you had been employed by the victim company Pacific Ezy Money Transfer Limited, at its Salelologa branch since 2017 where you were supervisor at the time of offending.
4. All its money transfer transactions were recorded on the control money system from where the daily payer records are generated. You were authorised to access the system and with your co accused Lele Mataia, responsible for preparing the cash reports and reporting daily to the main office in Apia. According to the summary Lele was usually responsible for cash counting and you for checking that they matched and reconciled with the system’s daily payer records.
5. On the first occasion, the 15th June 2020, with your co accused you knowingly made false entries of sums and formula on the Salelologa cash report to facilitate theft of $8,490.80. Your intention was to permanently deprive your employer of the said monies. Similarly on the following day, the 16th June 2020, you and your co accused falsified entries of sums and formula to facilitate theft of $1,348.37 in monies, again with the intention to permanently deprive the owner of such property.
6. On both occasions whilst the cash report appeared balanced, a closer assessment revealed the discrepancies and theft. The summary says you were well aware that Lele was stealing money from the company but did not report it.
7. On a third and separate occasion between April and July 2020 you stole $3,000 with the intention to permanently deprive your employer of the said amount.
8. The thefts were discovered in an investigation conducted on the 26th June 2020 after the finance manager became suspicious of the inconsistencies in the amounts submitted in the daily cash reports. You admitted in the investigation stealing the said $3,000 which you subsequently repaid.
9. You admit your offending in the presentence report and say that not only did you not report Lele, but at her suggestion you also stole from the company. You were the branch supervisor and more senior, you know what you should have done but failed to do.

Victim

10. The victim is a remittance company which for almost twenty years has provided service to the Samoa diaspora in New Zealand by sending monies to families in Samoa. There is no new victim impact report submitted by prosecution other than the one dated 6th March 2024 in the sentencing of your co accused Lele Mataia. I adopt that report as relevant in your case. It highlights the serious impact of your dishonesty on their brand and service to the Samoa community in both New Zealand and Samoa.
11. It says that from the company’s investigation, the financial loss amounted to more than $20,000 though the total involved in the charges finalised by police and on which you are being sentenced is $12,839.17. The offending as explained in the report impacted the company’s resources and time. And though not included in the report, I note that you had paid back $3000 in restitution.

Aggravating Factors

[12] I consider:

(i) the breach of trust - you were the branch supervisor and higher in authority than your co accused Lele;
(ii) the significant sum stolen being $12,839.17;
(iii) the offending occurred on three separate occasions;
(iv) that there was planning and premeditation – it involved the deliberate entry of false amounts and formula to facilitate theft and avoid detection;
(v) the impact on the victim company including the loss and absorbing the cost of customers’ funds; and time and resource committed to the investigation and training new staff;
(vi) the prevalence of the offending.

Mitigating Factors

12. I consider:
    • (i) your guilty pleas;
    • (ii) the apology confirmed in the material before me;
    • (iii) restitution of $3000. As to the other amounts involved, you say that Lele was responsible for the theft of those sums;
    • (iv) your personal circumstances. You are a 33 year old single mother from Neiafu. You have had a good education having completed secondary school and studied for a semester at the University of Samoa. You had worked for the victim company for 17 months until terminated as a result of this matter. I have read the references by Bishop Loteliki Silofau and the women representative of Neiafu, Amelia Taatiti. You are a first offender.

Discussion

13. The maximum penalty for theft as a servant is ten years imprisonment and seven years for falsifying accounts. In your case, there are no exceptional circumstances to warrant a departure from the court’s general practice of imposing deterrent custodial sentences for theft as a servant given the breach of trust. Both counsel acknowledge that in their submissions.
14. I have considered all authorities cited by prosecution and your counsel. For consistency, I also consider relevant this court’s sentence of your co accused in Police v. Matai’a [2024] WSSC 10. Prosecution recommend a starting point of four years and your counsel, two years.
15. Ms Toailoa submits that your culpability is lower than your co accused, and suggests that you took only $3,000 which you admitted taking and subsequently repaid. But the summary which you accepted is clear, you were jointly involved in the thefts. You deliberately manipulated the system to facilitate the unlawful taking of money. You were in a position of authority; you could have prevented the taking and reported to management but you did not. The fact that you took less than your co accused does not make you any less culpable. I bear in mind also that there is a third individual charge against you only.
16. Having considered all that, I adopt on a totality basis a start point of 3 years and 3 months. I make these deductions. For your personal circumstances including your remorse the apology and your first offender status, I deduct 4 months. For restitution of $3,000 I deduct 6 months. And lastly for your pleas of guilty, I deduct 8 months. The end sentence on the charge of theft as a servant is 21 months.

Result

17. On each of the charges (two joint and one individual) of theft as a servant, you are convicted and sentenced to 1 year and 9 months’ imprisonment. On each of the two joint charges of falsifying accounts, you are convicted and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. The sentences on all five charges will be served concurrently.

JUSTICE ROMA