A couple in Samoa have been found guilty of Actual Bodily Harm, but not guilty of manslaughter, after a panel of four assessors reached a verdict last week.

Felavasa’i and Sela Lavasi’i, Taulasea or traditional healers, were tried for witchcraft but the charge was dismissed after three days because the police lacked the evidence to prove it.

The defendants were charged after the death of a 45 year-old woman who they placed in a plastic container, partially filled with boiling hot water, as part of a treatment to chase away demons of the woman’s family.

According to police evidence, the mother in-law of the deceased had sought the defendants traditional healing when her daughter-in-law became ill.

Speaking to reporters after the verdict, the woman, Sela Lavasi’i said they stopped practicing traditional healing and treatments after the death of the woman because they had become born again Christians.

The couple will be sentenced on December 18 on the charge of actual bodily harm which carries a jail term.

MIRACLE RESCUE AFTER PLANE CRASH

A Norfolk Island fishing boat operator says it was a miracle he managed to rescue six people after their plane made an emergency landing in the sea off the island’s coast late on Wednesday night.

Captain Dominic James and his crew had planned a fuel stop at Norfolk Island during a medical evacuation from Samoa to Melbourne, when they encountered deteriorating weather conditions.

He landed the jet on the water, allowing him and the other five to escape unharmed.

Darren Bates, who charters fishing boats from Norfolk, was called on to rescue the six and says it was a miracle he found them as the sea was pitch black and he had little information on where the plane had hit the water.

“We picked up something on radar and followed that line. And when we got closer, someone spotted three lights. So we got up close to that and found out it was three little, tiny lights that are on top of the vests,” said Bates. “Planes that come here over the sea usually carry life vests and they only had enough time to get three vests on.”

SAMOA CAMPAIGN TARGETS LIFESTYLE DISEASES

People in Samoa are being encouraged to get physically active in an effort to reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases.

The General Manager of Samoa’s National Health Services, Dr. Stanley Dean, says a Healthy Lifestyle Week has been held as part of a campaign to encourage people to change their sedentary lifestyle and watch their food intake.

He says poor health will also become a burden on the health budget.

“We have a definite increase in ...obesity, diabetes and hypertension and heart disease. They have to change their habits and their lifestyle in order to improve their quality of life and also cut down the expenses from the cost of these diseases in the future,” he said.

Dean says Samoa spends millions of dollars each year sending people overseas to places like New Zealand for medical treatment.

SAMOA MP APPEARS IN COURT

A Member of Parliament (MP) of the ruling HRPP party in Samoa, who is facing one count of threatening to kill, appeared in court last week.

Solamalemalo Keneti Sio is alleged to have been involved in an attempt to kill a man of Faleula village as a result of a Lands and Titles court decision on a matai title dispute.

Sio, who has yet to enter a plea, had his case adjourned to next month as police have yet to complete their investigations and finalize charges against the MP.

The prosecution asked the court to advise the defendant to refrain from contacting witnesses and anyone involved in the case, but the MP’s defense counsel said it has not been given a list of police witnesses.

Meanwhile, the presiding judge did not support a prosecution application for bail against Sio, because he trusted the MP would not run away from the judiciary if he left the country for official government duties or personal trips.

(Source:Radio New Zealand International)