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Man arrested for threatening his family with a machete

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ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of threatening his wife and two young children by putting a machete to his wife’s face and telling her that he would kill her and the kids if she ran away from him — is now in custody after being arrested by police.

The man made his initial appearance in District Court last month.

He is charged with one count of felonious restraint, a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both, along with 4 misdemeanors charges including one count of 3rd degree assault; one count of private peace disturbance and 2 counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Bail is set at $10,000

If he posts bond, the defendant is ordered not to have any direct or indirect contact with his wife and children, and to find another place to stay while his case is still pending in court. He also is to stay in close contact with his attorney.

Preliminary examination (PX) is scheduled for next week.

THE CASE

On Aug. 22, 2021, a woman walked into the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) requesting assistance on what had happened between her and her husband, later identified as Junior Lui, the defendant in this matter. Several police officers responded to the call and met up with the victim in this case.

According to the victim’s statement to investigators, on Aug. 20th, her husband came home drunk and on meth while she and her two young children (2-year-old and 4-year-old) were sleeping.

The defendant woke her up and said things that didn’t sit right with her while he was watching pornography on his cellphone. He stated that the girl in the video is her and another man doing nasty things.

When the victim tried to tell her husband that’s not her, her husband cussed at her, reached for a machete and pointed it at her saying that is what she would get if she ever does cheat on him.

The victim told investigators that she wanted to leave the bedroom and run away with her kids but was held back by being too scared of her husband who held the machete up close to her face.

The defendant spent the whole entire night staying up and watching the victim and the two kids sleep until it was morning. The victim finally escaped with her kids when her husband asked her to go buy something from the store.