Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, has cautioned his opponents against jumping to conclusion over fresh allegations against the Associate Minister of Trade, Muagututagata Peter Ah Him.
Asked for a comment yesterday, Tuilaepa reminded about the notion that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
“At the moment, it is only an accusation,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s opinion was sought after Muagututagata appeared before the Supreme Court earlier this week.
Represented by his lawyer, Fepulea’i Patrick Fepulea’i, the Associate Minister pleaded not guilty to allegations of defrauding and the misappropriation of funds.
The allegations relate to money belonging to a Chinese company called Grand Ocean Industries (Samoa) Ltd, in which he owned 10 per cent shares.
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Yesterday, Tuilaepa said Muagututagata should be given an award.
“The truth is that the Associate Minister should be awarded a gold medal for creating news,” said Tuilaepa.
“He is probably the only Member of Parliament who is well known in Parliament for creating so much news to fill your newspaper.
“Having said that, the Associate Minister cannot be said to have broken the law unless the allegation is proven.”
Prime Minister Tuilaepa also stood by his Associate Minister.
He referred to a “similar situation” involving M.P Levaopolo Talatonu recently. This involved charges against the M.P. over a container of goods.
After a lengthy Court process, the charges against Levaopolo were dismissed.
Tuilaepa said it’s important not to be too quick to jump to conclusions.
“There were many opinions expressed about it,” he said about the allegations against Levaopolo. “But in the end, the Court had a different ruling – different from what you gossipers wanted.”
Muagututagata, who made headlines recently for an incident involving the Police and the deputy Prime Minister, is scheduled to appear in Court on November 10 to face the charges.
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