AG: Woman Who Missed Probation Hearing, Not on Look Out List

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Attorney General Talauega Eleasalo Ale says a woman who left the territory early in the year even though she has a pending probation hearing in High Court, didn’t have any lien on her to stop her from leaving the territory.

He’s referring to the case of Aisea Tagisia who was set for a probation hearing in the High Court Friday.

When the woman’s case was called Friday in Chief Justice Kruse’s court, the government said that she left the island in January.

This prompted comments from CJ Kruse about the leadership at Immigration and why there’s a look out list when people were slipping by Immigration without notice.

The CJ also asked what is the use of the computers at the airport and whether they were for decoration.

Kruse’s comments were reported by both KHJ News and Samoa New.

Reacting to the news reports of Kruse’s comments, Attorney General Taluega Eleasalo Ale, said  the AG’s Office doesnt have any authority to stop the woman from leaving the territory unless the court specifically orders it .

He said the court did not issue such an order for the individual and as such it is unfair to blame the Immigration Office for this person’s decision to leave the territory and violate her probation.

The AG also said that Tangisia’s name would not be on the look out list which is for foreigners who are banned from entering the territory due to convictions.

In Tagisia’s case she is a US national and resident of American Samoa so her name is not on the look out list.

The AG also took issue with the media’s reportage of this story.

He said it is unfair and irresponsible for certain media outlets “to simply regurgitate what they hear in court without doing very simple fact checking, which if they did, they would have discovered the real facts.”

From KHJ News: A new fact to this story is that when the defendant was a no show on Friday the court ordered that a warrant be issued for her arrest.

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