Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A DPS senior police officer who failed to turn over to the court the ticket she issued to a driver has been ordered by District Court Judge Fiti Sunia to pay the $75 fine the driver was supposed to pay.

An Order to Show Cause hearing (OSC) for the matter was held last Friday.

Lt. Margie Alofaituli was subpoenaed to appear in court that day, and she did.

When the case between the American Samoa Government and Avatonu Tia was called, Alofaituli made her way to the front.

Sunia explained to Alofaituli the reason why she was ordered to appear in court. According to Sunia, a driver who was cited by Alofaituli for a traffic violation appeared in court on the date he was supposed to. When the matter was called, the driver was present but there was no citation before the court.

The citation against the driver was then dismissed.

“Do you understand the reason why you’re here in court today?" Sunia asked Alofaituli last Friday. She said yes.

“So tell the court why you failed to turn in the citation,” Sunia said. Alofaituli explained  that she totally forgotten to turn it in.

Sunia continued, “The driver of the vehicle was in court that day. The court was supposed to order the driver to pay a fine of $75 for his traffic violation, which includes the $10 law enforcement fee. However, the citation was dismissed because you failed to turn in the citation. The court is now ordering you to pay the fine, today."