By Staff Writer
A Samoan father is to defend against criminal charges for defamatory remarks allegedly made while giving a church sermon at home in Australia where he and his family live.
Police arrested Tiumalumatua Fetu on arrival in Samoa just over a week ago for the alleged giving of false statements causing harm to a person/s reputation.
He is liable to a maximum prison sentence of 3 months under Section 117A of the Criminal Act he is due to defend against in two weeks’ time when it comes up for mention in court on 2 August 2022.
The criminal charges are over comments in the sermon reportedly critical of the Government leadership in Samoa.
Tiumalumatua and his family traveled to Samoa to attend the Methodist Church annual general conference.
His son was ordained a new minister of the church and the calling to do the Lord’s work was a must attend occasion for the devoted followers of the Methodist church.
The visiting father is also well known to the Samoan community in Sydney where he runs his own radio station.
A local law firm he has engaged managed to have him quickly released from the police holding charges soon after his arrest.
Tiumalumatua was still able to attend his son’s ordination.
He attended the conference sessions and presentation of gifts to the church leaders in keeping with the traditional culture of respect in gratitude for the church calling on his son.
Opposition leader, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, is shocked by the arrest and of the offensive remarks against Government allegedly made in a church sermon.
“Samoa has a very high tolerance for freedom of expression and in our time in Government we were very tolerant with all the personal attacks made against me,” Tuilaepa told the local media.
“I don’t take what is said about me personally because when you do it can cause mental problems or give you a heart attack.
“But if they’re starting to arrest people for what they say in church soon the ‘faifeau’ will not be safe and the same for us too- myself included.”
Tuilaepa recalled the infamous incidence last year when he and opposition party MPs were denied entry into Parliament and of the police threat to ‘lock them up.’
‘We did not break any laws and being treated like children with threats of being dragged away in a police bus to be locked up did not scare us.
“We were within the law, and we stood our ground despite the 5-minute warning by the police that we either disperse and vacate or be locked up until they backed down when we refused to move.”
The opposition leader’s defiance at the time outside Parliament resulted in the surprise appearance of the Head of State, Member of the Council of Deputies and members of the National Council of Churches.
Tuilaepa contends that as opposition party MPs they are only instruments there to serve the people and the country.