Neu: 2001-09-29 Contents of this issue:
1. Cruising On 2. Inquiry Call ======================================================================== September 29th, 2001 1. Cruising On: A German cruise liner MS Bremen with 70 passengers on board called at Niue Friday. The vessel anchored off shore for six hours while many of the passengers went sight seeing on the island. MS Bremen arrived at Niue from Tahiti, Rarotonga and Palmerston island and sailed for Tonga and Fiji. The vessel is heading back to Tahiti next week and will make another call at Niue. 2. Inquiry Call : A major row is brewing over the competency of police and justice departments on Niue. Leading Opposition member of the Legislative Assembly, O'Love Jacobsen, is calling for an independent commission of inquiry into both departments following a decision of the High Court to dismiss a charge of murder against a Tongan planter due to the lack of sufficient forensic evidence. The 41 year-old man later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment. Mrs Jacobsen said the lack of specialisation in forensic science and the fact that the Niue police had turned down an offer of investigative assistance by the New Zealand police requires an inquiry.She also said those people facing serious charges on the island had no access to qualified legal advice. "I want to know why the Niue police turned down an offer to assist with the murder investigation by experienced detectives from New Zealand and why a lawyer did not handle the prosecution," said Mrs Jacobsen."The accused is also entitled to a proper defence counsel," she said. "There is also the question of the local jail - its more like a holiday camp where you can't tell the inmates from the warders and that's been going on for a while.It's all too casual. The Minister of Justice needs to be held responsible for this,"said Mrs Jacobsen. Chief of Police John Satini Tohovaka told TV Niue News that on hindsight an offer of assistance from New Zealand police should have been taken up.however he added that he felt the police did their best to gain sufficient evidence but it was difficult without resources. Judge Heka Hingston of Rotorua the New Zealand who was on the bench for the homicide trial said murder was a serious charge and there had to be high standards of evidence required to secure a conviction.The case before him failed to achieve these standards. He said Niue lacked the resources and money for gathering specialised forensic evidence and he suggested that assistance be sought from New Zealand when serious crime was being investigated on the island. __END__
