Samoan tax payers look likely to foot the bill for mistakes by the Police in dealing with a man who had been locked up in a Police cell with his then three year old son in September 2016.
The Sunday Samoan newspaper reported that a letter written by the Attorney General Lemalu Herman Retzlaff reveals a deal being brokered between government and the lawyers for the family, Woodroffe Lawyers of Auckland.
The letter indicates that the plaintiffs had sought $ST100,000 in compensation for the infant and $ST25,000 for legal fees.
An open letter of apology from the Government of Samoa to the child’s parents and to the child personally for his mistreatment and false imprisonment by the police was also sought by the plaintiff.
Additionally, the plaintiff wanted government to give assurances to members of the public that this case should prompt the government to introduce laws in relation to interrogation of children as raised by UNICEF.
The Samoa Government through AG Lemalu is offering $75,000 compensation for the incarceration of the child and $25,000 legal fees.
The AG also gives assurances of an apology by the current Commissioner of Police to the plaintiff and his family.
