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Samoa MP guilty but calm, collected

Aana Alofi No 3. MP, Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster is staying calm.Found guilty by the District Court of four charges, including unlawful assembly, last week, the Tautua Samoa Party MP faces the possibility of being jailed as well as losing his seat in Parliament. Yesterday, however, it was business as usual for Toeolesulusulu.He was among three members of the party who fronted a press conference at Mulinu’u, during which they addressed a number of issues.Asked how he was feeling ahead of his sentencing scheduled for Friday 5 August 2013, Toeolesulusulu said what happens in Court is beyond his control.“It’s now with the Attorney General's side and I am still carrying my duty as a faipule within the Tautua Party,” he said.Opposition leader, Palusalue Fa’apo II was equally relaxed in agreeing with Toeolesulusulu.Neither made any mention of an appeal against the verdict which saw 13 others also convicted on various charges after staging a roadblock in support of historic land claims involving the international airport and lands taken during colonial times.The verdict delivered by Judge Vaepule Vaemoa Vaai found Toeolesulusulu guilty of four charges, including unlawful assembly.Section 10 of the Electoral Act states that an MP will lose his/her seat if he or she is convicted of 'a' crime punishable by imprisonment for a term of two years or more.Section 30 of the Crimes Act states that conviction on unlawful assembly charges is liable to imprisonment for one year.