By Staff Writer
Senior Cabinet Minister, Laauli Leuatea Schmidt, is in serious legal trouble, if complaints of conspiracy are proven against him in court.
So too is the associate Minister of Police, Fepulea’i Fa’asavalu Su’a.
Both are alleged to be behind the controversial account by an eye witness, pointing a guilty finger at MP Lealailepule Rimoni Aiafi, for the unsolved death of a young adult male, run over and killed at Vaitele about 2 years ago.
The alleged eye-witness, Samuelu, has received a lot of online airtime in the past few weeks with claims that he had personally seen what happened and who was responsible.
Last Friday, MP Lealailepule, told the local media that he has filed a series of legal complaints through his lawyers and the police, against the allegations against him.
MP Lealailepule has alleged that the account by the eye-witness Samuelu, was deliberately coached and designed to incriminate him.
He pointed to the Minister of Agriculture Laauli and Associate Minister of Police Fepulea’i as the people behind it.
The MP claimed that he has solid witnesses ready to testify in support of his allegations and have already confirmed it with the police.
A further criminal charge was alleged against Laauli for claims made in an interview on the EFKS TV, that MP Lealailepule was behind plans to gun him and the Deputy PM Tuala Ponifasio down.
Legal actions are also being taken against the EFKS TV programme presenter.
New Zealand based Samoan media personalities, alleged to have added to the defamatory claims by the eye-witness Samuelu, are included in legal complaints filed with New Zealand lawyers.
No clear indications yet of when these legal claims will be heard in court or how likely the accused will end up with prison sentences if found guilty of the allegations.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of the trouble making eye-witness Samuelu is yet to be revealed to the local police ongoing hunt to bring him in for questioning.
Samuelu reportedly has a police and prison record for several criminal convictions.