Parents deny daughter’s affair

The parents of Susan Caroline Stowers have repeatedly denied their daughter’s involvement in a sexual relationship with a church Minister.

In the District Court yesterday, Su'a and Peati Fa’aaliga Stowers maintained their daughter's innocence.

Su'a told the Court he had no knowledge of Rev. Terry Faiga, who was serving the village of Lano from 2011–2013, having an affair with his daughter.

He was questioned by the counsel for two of the defendants, Taulapapa Brenda Heather– Latu.

She asked him if he was aware of the relationship between his daughter and the church Minister.

“No I’m not,” said Sua.

“But in your statement with the police you were quoted saying that you wanted to resolve and withdraw the matter because it was a disgrace and it has given the church a bad name,” Taulapapa asked.

"Yes I remember saying that," the father told the Court.

“Isn’t that the reason why you were punished from the village twice, firstly because your daughter lodged a complaint against the faletua (minister’s wife) and secondly because of her affair with Terry?” Taulapapa queried.

“I don’t understand what you are saying,” Sua replied.

The trial is the second day of the hearing into allegations of defeating the cause of justice made against the President of Samoa Victim Support Group, Siliniu Lina Chang and three others.

District Court Judge Vaepule Vaemoa Va’ai is presiding over the matter.

Fepulea’i Patrick Fepulea’i and Diana Roma are the prosecutors.

Siliniu and another S.V.S.G employee, Tumua Luafalealo, are represented by Taulapapa Brenda Heather–Latu.

Lawyer Papali’i Taeu Masipau is standing on behalf of police officer Sala’a Sale Sala’a who is the other defendant.

The fourth defendant, Elaine Ulia–Faiga is represented by Alalatoa Rosella Papali’i.

First to take the stand yesterday was Sua Fa’aaliga Stowers.

He was asked about how he was related to Terry Faiga.

“Yes my wife and I are both related to Terry,” he replied.

In his evidence, the father maintained the Minister and especially his wife had insisted they could adopt his daughter despite a village taboo.

He explained the reason there was a taboo was related to previous matters in the past, where some youths from the village were allegedly involved in sexual conduct at the minister’s house. “I told my wife what they are asking for is very difficult but Elaine said to leave it to them, they will deal with the village.

“I had asked them (Elaine and Terry) why they wanted my daughter since our house is far away from the center of the village and if it was a boy it would’ve been easy…but she was our youngest and a girl.”

The father also spoke about being punished by Lano twice because of his daughter.

“A village meeting was called where I was punished and ordered to bring 2000 aumatua (sows),” Sua told the Court.

“I requested that the matter is before [Court] and without wanting to look like I was objecting to them, I presented to them two cows, three sows and some boxes of herrings as part of my payment and told them it was all that I had and they accepted it.”

During cross examination, Taulapapa asked Sua if he was aware about a lot of talks in the village about his daughter and the minister.

He replied: “I’m not aware of anything like that, she (Susan) took the matter to S.V.S.G and we had no knowledge of it.”

“You weren’t aware of the relationship that your daughter and the minister had,” Taulapapa asked. No, he said.

Taulapapa told Sua that his evidence is not the same as his statement to Police.

She made reference to a part of his statement where he said it had been resolved and he looked at his daughter with love, deciding she should leave for Tutuila.

Sua agreed to his statement and explained they did intend to send Susan away, but that would be after the court case (with Elaine), but they had rushed her to leave when S.V.S.G contacted them.

Taulapapa asked where Susan was staying.

The father said with him and his wife in Savai’i.

“How about the minister,” Taulapapa asked.

“I don’t know about him,” Sua said.

The witness was asked what he was thinking when the Police came back to him to investigate why the complaint lodged by his daughter was withdrawn. In response, Sua said: “I did not want to remember any of it.

“I’ve mostly forgot about it and when I spoke with the police officer it slowly came back to me.”

Then came Alalatoa’s turn to cross examine.

She questioned the father over whether his daughter was living with the minister at the moment.

Sua denied this.

“What if I tell you that is the truth?” the lawyer said. Again Sua said no.

Alalatoa told the father he was covering up because what his daughter did was shameful and disgraceful.

“No,” Sua repeated.

“You don’t want to tell the truth because it will reveal all these disgraceful things [that] your daughter’s doing, is that right,” Alalatoa asked.

“No,” Sua replied.

When the lawyer confronted the father with his daughter’s evidence in Court on Monday, where she admitted to having an affair with the minister, again he denied this.

“From today, you still cannot accept that your daughter is with the minister?”

No, said Sua.

“Do you have a phone that you can access the internet [on]...on a Facebook page your daughter is posting photos of her and the minister kissing?”

The father said he doesn’t know how to work such things.

Alalatoa questioned the father why he had asked his daughter for forgiveness if she had not done anything wrong.

In response, Sua said he asked her to get on her knees and apologise because it had affected a lot of people, even though he knew his daughter was not at fault.

The second witness after Sua was his wife.

Mrs. Stowers was asked by Taulapapa why they had asked to withdraw the case, where her daughter complained about Elaine.

The mother repeatedly told the Court that the police officer, Salaa, had instructed her to make a request in the Court to withdraw the case.

Taulapapa reminded her that her husband had given evidence saying it was with his free will that he made the request to withdraw the case.

Mrs. Stowers replied, saying she was instructed by Salaa on what to say to the Judge, where she had told her husband to make the request to withdraw in Court.

At this point, Taulapapa asked the mother about her daughter and the affair with the minister.

“I did not know a time when Susan said anything about it,” said the mother.

The lawyer pointed to a statement made by Mrs. Stowers on 30 November 2013 to S.V.S.G where she spoke about “your daughter’s affair with her adopted father, her uncle”.

The mother repeated, no.

“In your statement made at S.V.S.G you spoke about the church trip to American Samoa and someone saw something (with Susan and Terry),” said Taulapapa.

“You mentioned Foai, Rosalina said that someone had said that Elaine went to a house and found Susan lying on the bed with her bra and underwear on while the minister was watching her.

“These were your words while you were crying at S.V.S.G not in Lina’s words. You cried because you went there and you didn’t expect them to tell you about the affair, is that correct?”

Mrs. Stowers continued to say the things she mentioned in the statement was what she was told by Siliniu Lina Chang. Taulapapa began to raise her voice. “You heard the talks and what people were saying about your daughter and you did nothing about [it],” she asked. The mother said she had forgotten about the events as it was a while ago.

“You forgot about the affair by your daughter and the minister?”

Taulapapa reminded the mother that “you went to S.V.S.G and you spoke with Kisa (from S.V.S.G) [and] she told you about the affair between a church minister, who is the biggest hypocrite and liar from Savai’i.”

The mother replied, no.

The lawyer told Mrs. Stowers that it appeared as if she was going against the four defendants when in honest truth they thought they were assisting a girl that needed help. “I have a belief that the charges are not correct, the only foundation of the charges is based on [a] Police interview with you, your husband Sua and daughter Susan.”

She responded, saying she didn’t know what happened.

Cross examination on Mrs. Stowers continues today. The defendants are facing four charges. The first charge is where they are all accused of being parties in an attempt to defeat the cause of justice.

Siliniu and Sala’a then face a charge over the arrangement for Ms. Stowers’ parents to withdraw a complaint she filed against Ulia-Faiga in July 2013.

The third charge is against Siliniu and Tumua for defeating the cause of justice. They are accused of an attempt to ensure Ms. Stowers left the country before a hearing, which had been scheduled for 25 July, 2013.

Lastly, the defendants are accused of asking Ms. Stowers between 30 September – 1 November, 2015, to not cooperate with the Police investigation.