Pago Pago, AMERICA SAMOA — The 48-year-old man who punched a taxi driver when the taxi driver tried to break up a confrontation between him (defendant) and his wife was ordered to serve 30 days at the Territorial Correction Facility (TCF), as a condition of his 12- month probation.

Alfred Amituana’i was convicted by District Court Judge Fiti Sunia last week for the charge of 3rd degree assault, a class A misdemeanor. Amituana’i admitted that on Nov. 21, 2017, a verbal confrontation between him and his wife occurred in front of a store in Tafuna.

As Amituana’i tried to reach for his wife, a taxi driver whose vehicle was parked in front of the store stepped in and tried to stop Viliamu from assaulting his wife.

According to the government’s case, instead of assaulting his wife, Amituana’i then turned around and punched the taxi driver in the face multiple times for interfering in “husband and wife’s business.”

Amituana’i apologized for his actions and asked for a second chance. He also apologized to the taxi driver who was the victim in this case. He told the court that he was unable to control his anger towards his wife, however, when the taxi driver tried to touch his shoulder, that’s when he turned around and assaulted him.

As a condition of his probation, Amituana’i was ordered to attend and complete an anger management counseling program and pay a fine of $100.