by Samoa News staff

On January 9, 2025, a concerned citizen contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) regarding a village police (aumaga) who allegedly assaulted a man during the village curfew.

The suspect was arrested and later charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony punishable by imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Public Peace Disturbance, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $50,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Jan. 9th, at around 10:55 p.m., a man contacted the TPS regarding Viliami Vaito’a (later identified as the suspect) who assaulted another man (later identified as the victim.

The suspect allegedly punched the victim a couple of times and kicked him in the face twice.

At around 11:00 p.m., the officers were dispatched to the call and upon arrival at the scene, they observed the victim sitting on the curb with blood all over his face with the village curfew police (aumaga) surrounding him. The victim’s mouth was full of blood and every time he spoke, he couldn't move his jaw. His teeth appeared to have been injured as well as they were pointing outwards in other directions. The left side of his bottom gums appeared torn and ripped in an outward direction. The injuries appeared concentrated mostly on the left side of his head.

The officers interviewed the victim where he stated that “he didn’t even do anything and out of nowhere the suspect came and assaulted him.” He stated that the suspect punched him a couple of times and that he was also hit with a hammer. The victim explained that he fell on the ground and the suspect kicked him in the face twice.

The officers approached the suspect where he stated that he saw the victim walking by and he called out to him. He told him that it’s curfew time and it was already past 10:00 p.m. However, the victim shouted profanities back at him which got him mad. Moreover, he claimed that when he approached the victim, the victim  tried to hit him with a pool cue stick and that’s why he punched him a couple of times.

He said, the victim ran away and went in front of a family’s residence but he came back, and that’s where he beat him up again. The suspect admitted that he punched the victim several times which caused him to fall on the ground and that’s when he kicked the victim’s face twice.

The village police came and stopped them, he said, and held them until the police arrived.

The officers contacted the TPS to call the EMS to get one of their units to standby at the station to treat the victim’s injuries.

The victim was secured inside the police unit where he was transported to the station for treatment and further investigation.

The suspect was apprehended and placed inside the police unit where he was also transported to the station for interrogation.

Upon arrival at the station, the victim was treated and was transported to the LBJ immediately for further treatment.

The suspect was Mirandized and agreed to make a statement.

During the booking process, the suspect stated that he couldn’t stop his anger and that’s why he walked up to the victim and beat him up again.

The suspect was later transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility for confinement awaiting the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 21-year-old citizen of Samoa.