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Three men popped by cops after they were allegedly assaulting their wives

ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Police from the Tafuna and Fagatogo Substations arrested three men at three different occasions last week on allegations that they each assaulted their wives.

The first incident happened in Pago Pago while the other two incidents were reported from Tafuna and Malaeimi. Alcohol was reportedly involved in all three incidents.

The three men made their initial appearances last week in District Court where Judge Fiti Sunia released one man on his own recognizance while the other two were remanded to custody on $1,000 bond each.

Each man is being charged with public peace disturbance and third degree assault, both class A misdemeanors, punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of $1,000, or both.

INCIDENT IN PAGO PAGO

The incident in Tafuna happened around 3:12p.m. Saturday afternoon when the defendant allegedly assaulted his wife at a bus stop in Pago Pago.

An elderly couple who witnessed the incident when their vehicle passed by the bus stop called police for assistance. The couple, who was later interviewed by police, stated that as they traveled from Pago Pago to Tafuna, they were shocked to see a young woman fall on the ground when a man punched her in the face.

The young woman and the man were later identified by police as husband and wife.

The elderly couple told police that once they saw what happened, they immediately pulled their vehicle over in front of the Pago Pago tennis court, then they exited their vehicle to offer help to the woman, and to see if she needed assistance.

Before they got to the area where the woman had fallen, the elderly woman called the police on her phone.

As they approached the young woman, who was still lying on the ground, the husband, who was standing behind her kicked his wife in the back twice. The elderly couple both yelled out to the husband to stop what he was doing because the police were on their way.

The husband then walked away from where his wife was lying before police arrived. The wife who was later identified as the 24-year old victim was bleeding from both her mouth and nose. EMS was also contacted for medical assistant but the victim refused to go to the LBJ Hospital for further treatment.

According to the victim, she was speaking to her boyfriend who she works with at the cannery when her husband walked up to them from nowhere and immediately assaulted her.

The victim told police that her husband assaulted her from behind by slapping her chin, which caused her head to hit the bus stop cement post very hard. It was at that time her boyfriend who as sitting beside her stood up and fled the scene.

The victim also told police that her husband had threatened to kill her. For her own safety, the victim requested that police detain her husband and not allow him back home.

The couple rents a house in Fagatogo.

The victim provided police with her husband’s cell phone, which made it easier for police to contact the defendant, who was told to come to the Fagatogo police station to discuss the matter.

Around 7:33p.m on the same day, the defendant walked in to the Fagatogo Police Station and provided his side of the story, and where he was later booked and confined at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF), after being interviewed by police.

When asked by police, the defendant stated that he was very pissed off when his female cousin who worked with his wife at the cannery called his cell phone and informed him that his wife was seen with another man at a bus stop in Pago Pago.

The defendant is a carpenter, and he was working in Pava’ia’i when he received the phone called from his cousin around 12:32p.m.

He then left his job, jumped on a bus and headed to Pago Pago to check on his wife. According to the defendant, he was shocked to see his wife sitting close together with another man. It was around 12:32p.m. when he received the call, but it was around 3:12p.m. when he got there, almost 3 hours had passed, but his wife was still there with this man.

Out of anger, he then assaulted his wife. The defendant told police that he was intoxicated when he committed the offense.

After his initial appearance, the defendant was remanded to custody until he posts a $1,000 bond, subject to the condition that he is not to have any direct or indirect contact with his wife. The defendant is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 25 for his pretrial conference.

INCIDENT IN TAFUNA

The incident in Tafuna happened around 9:21p.m. Monday night when the defendant allegedly assaulted his wife inside their home in Tafuna.

The man allegedly pushed his wife's face twice before the woman became angry, exited their home, and contacted police for help.

According to the victim, the incident occurred inside their home while they were watching TV. The victim told police it was her husband who started the verbal argument, when he mentioned something about her going out with another man. Her husband also accused her for giving their money to a taxi driver for sexual activity.

She said she tried to explain but her husband didn't want to hear it.

He then allegedly pulled her hair, slapped her twice in the face before pushing her towards the wall.

When asked by police, the defendant admitted that he had assaulted his wife and immediately begged for a chance to go home. However, for the safety of the victim, the defendant was booked and confined at the TCF to await the next sitting of District Court.

After his initial appearance, the defendant was released on his own recognizance to await his next court appearance on Sept. 26 for his pretrial conference.

INCIDENT IN MALAEIMI

Around 7:30p.m. Tuesday night, a woman called the Tafuna Police Substation for assistance, after her daughter was allegedly assaulted by her husband. The officers arrived shortly thereafter and a woman, who was later identified as the mother of the victim explained the incident to police.

According to the victim’s mother, she was at their other house when she heard her daughter screaming for help from the house where she stays with her husband and three young children. She rushed to offer help to her daughter, but when she arrived, she saw her son-in-law (defendant) was choking his wife (victim) with one hand, while he was holding a kitchen knife in his other hand. According to the victim’s mother, her son-in-law pointed the knife straight at his wife’s throat.

Her son-in-law left the house and ran outside into the dark when he heard her yell at him. As he ran away, he yelled out to his wife (victim) saying that he would kill her when he came back home.

When interviewed by police, the victim claims that her husband cussed at her and accused her of using him to feed her family, yet he knows that she is having an affair with another man in their village.

The victim told police that as she was trying to calm her husband down, he started throwing punches at her in front of their 3 young children. She pushed him away but he grabbed a cooking knife and put it to her throat while choking her using his other hand. For her safety, the victim then requested police to detain her husband because he threatened to assault her again when he comes home.

The defendant was later apprehended by police after which he was booked and confined at the TCF.

After his initial appearance, the defendant was remanded to custody until he can post a $1,000 bond, subject to the condition that he shall not have any direct or indirect contact with his wife.

He’s scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 27 for his pretrial conference.