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Police v Apulu [2025] WSSC 11 (19 March 2025)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Apulu [2025] WSSC 11 (19 March 2025)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

P O L I C E

Informant

AND:

ARLLEN SUTI SEPULONA APULU a.k.a. ALENI SEPULONA a.k.a. SAMUELU SEPULONA male of Seesee and Vailima.

Defendant

Counsel: R. Fong for Prosecution
Defendant appears in Person

Sentence: 19 March 2025

SENTENCE

Charges

1. You appear this afternoon for sentence on five charges - two charges of burglary each with a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment; two charges of theft, one with a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment and one with a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment; the fifth charge is unlawful entry, which has a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.
2. The charges arise out of two separate incidents, the first on the 23rd March 2024, the second on New Year’s Eve, 31st December 2024.
3. The record shows that you entered guilty pleas to all charges when first mentioned respectively. The record also shows that following your guilty pleas and referral to Salvation Army for charges from the first incident, you failed to comply with the programme and were discharged from the programme in June 2024. Further, you failed to appear when the matter was recalled and went on to reoffend on similar charges in December 2024, eight months after your first offending.

Offending

4. The first incident occurred on the 23rd March 2024 around 7.35am at Papauta. You entered the complainant’s home without authority whilst he was asleep. You took the keys to his vehicle and a black bag, then drove off in the complainant’s Nissan Juke registration number 31995 with his black handbag, passport and water bottle. The value of items you stole including the vehicle is $14,177.00.
5. The victim woke up and saw his car leaving, he assumed it was one of his relatives. He soon realised it was not and reported the matter to police. As police searched for the stolen vehicle, they were informed by Faleata police that one matching the description of the complainant’s had been involved in an accident.
6. The complainant and police subsequently identified the vehicle. You were then arrested and interviewed by police.
7. The second incident from which the charges arise occurred on the 31st December 2024. The summary says that you entered room number 217 on the second floor of Tanoa Tusitala Hotel at Sogi from the balcony, unlawfully and without any permission. The guests were sleeping and awoken by you. They screamed in fear causing you to flee.
8. You took with you SAT$350 in cash, NZD$252 in cash and a handbag. The total value of all items is $770.00. Police arrived and interviewed the couple and hotel security. They also searched around the area, found you at the fish market and brought you back to the hotel where you were identified by the complainant couple and arrested by police.
9. You admitted your offending to Probation and seek leniency in sentence.

Aggravating Factors

10. I consider the following:
    • (i) the offending involved the invasion of a private home and a well known tourist accommodation where the occupants should feel safe;
    • (ii) there is an element of premeditation on both occasions;
    • (iii) there are two incidents of offending - in fact whilst sentencing on the first incident was pending, you committed similar offences eight months later;
    • (iv) the significant value of items stolen being $15,380;
    • (v) the prevalence of this type of offending.

Mitigating Factors

11. In mitigation of penalty, I consider:
    • (i) your guilty pleas to the charges entered at the earliest opportunity;
    • (ii) your personal circumstances - you are 19 years of age and youngest of seven siblings. Your formal education ended in primary level. Your paternal aunt who has taken care of you since you were 8 years old told Probation that your mother passed away when you were just a baby; your father was also involved with the law and served an imprisonment term. As a result, you and your siblings were adopted by different families. She has seen how troubled you became when involved in alcohol and drugs. Despite her best wishes for you, she says it is appropriate that you be kept away from community and that you be given a penalty that will make you learn a lesson.

Discussion

12. These are serious charges of burglary and theft, one involving a private home and theft of a vehicle which was later involved in an accident; the other involving a hotel and tourist complainants. You had the opportunity to avoid imprisonment term when referred to Salvation Army following your guilty pleas to the first incident. But you took that opportunity lightly.
13. Not only did you not comply with conditions of the programme and failed to appear in court, but you went on to commit similar offences in a second incident eight months after the first, and when sentencing on the first matter was pending. It shows your lack of remorse and regard for the law.
14. Opportunities do not come around too often. The court gave you one, you did not seize it, and this time it will not give you another. In saying that, you must learn of the seriousness of your offending, its impact on the victims and community, and be deterred from committing similar offences in the future. An imprisonment term should achieve those purposes.
15. Prosecution recommend a starting point of 2 to 3 years. I have considered the authorities referred to in their sentencing memorandum.
16. For the burglary charges I adopt as the appropriate start point 3 years. From that term I deduct 9 months for your personal circumstances, in particular your young age, leaving 27 months. I make a final deduction of 9 months for your guilty pleas entered respectively at the first opportunity. The end sentence is 18 months’ imprisonment.

Result

17. You will serve the following sentences concurrently, less time spent in custody pending sentence:
    • (a) On the two charges of burglary, you are convicted of each charge and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment;
    • (b) On the one charge of theft committed on the 23^rd March 2024 involving items with a total value of $14,177.00, you are convicted and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment;
    • (c) On the second theft charge committed on the 31^st December 2024 involving items with a total value of $770.00, you are convicted and sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment;
    • (d) On the charge of unlawful entry, you are convicted and also sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment.

JUSTICE ROMA