DBAS Employee Placed on Two Weeks Leave

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Development Bank of American Samoa employee Masunu Leala was delivered an official notification by the bank Friday that he was being put on leave for two weeks from October 31 to November 14.

Leala says he had earlier been told that he was being suspended without pay for two weeks.

Signed by DBAS president Ruth Matagi Faatili, the letter dated November 3 cited a Facebook post by Leala last month in which he says he had a 9 mm semi automatic pistol which he planned to bring to work, a statement which the bank president said violated provisions of the employee handbook, under unacceptable activities.

Matagi Faatili also cites that in another Facebook post, Leala posted information about Pulu Ae Ae, a customer of the bank and employees are not allowed to release information about a bank customer.

She went further that his post was disseminated to many other Facebook users who access his page.

As listeners would recall, Pulu, speaking in his status as a high chief of Pago Pago had gone public on KHJ News criticizing senators who supported the Territorial Bank of American Samoa, saying that some were the ones who had their Development Bank loans written off.

Leala is the DBAS employee whom police had taken in for questioning about his Facebook page posting about possessing a 9 mm gun.

Commissioner of Public Safey Save Liuato Tuitele had said after questioning him that the employee admitted to making the comments about the weapon, in reaction to people who were irate over the reports about the bank’s loan interest freeze program.

DPS concluded that there was no basis for a criminal investigation of Leala.

The letter from the DBAS president informing Leala he was being put on leave cites the bank’s standard of conduct:

“At DBAS we hold ourselves to a high standard of quality.  By accepting employment with DBAS, you have a  responsibility to the bank and to your fellow employees to adhere to certain rules of behavior and conduct.”

Leala has worked at DBAS for two years and is a loan officer.

He  told KHJ News Friday that since Facebook posts of information on interest freeze and charged off loans for DBAS board members, employees and their relatives, and government officials, he has been targeted.

He says he is not responsible for the ledger information that has made the rounds on Facebook, that he knows better than to jeopardize his job which takes care of his family.

Leala also thinks the DBAS president has other personal reasons for disliking him and these will all come out as he seeks redress as a career service employee of DBAS.

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