BY MELVILLE TITIULU

The Magistrate’s Court has imposed a sentence of two years and six months for a man who pleaded guilty to stealing $296,802 from a Chinese national last year.

Evenson Fangarongo, 25, of Hagalu Village, Central Islands Province, was charged with simple larceny contrary to section 261(1) of the Penal Code.

The victim is Mr Huang, 39, of Enping Village, Guangdong Province, China.

The offence carries a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.

Principal Magistrate Mrs Hilly Elma Veenah Rizu, in delivering her sentencing judgement yesterday, said the prevalence in simple larceny (theft) cases requires the court to consider the need to deter such behaviours from thriving in the country.

She told the defendant in court that the victim had suffered significant economic financial loss, and that substantial amounts of business money had been lost due to his actions.

Accordingly, the court ordered a conviction and sentence of 2 years and six months imprisonment for the defendant. That sentence is to be backdated to the time he had spent in custody since September 17, 2025, hence, he will only serve the remainder at the Rove Correctional centre.

The theft incident occurred on August, 31 2025, around 10am to 11:30am in front of the New Flavour Shop in Chinatown, located opposite the Mataniko Clinic.

Ms Liang Shao Zhen, of Chinese nationality, placed a substantial sum of money totalling to $296,802 inside an empty cigarette carton box. She placed the box containing the cash inside her Toyota Rav4 vehicle, which she parked in front of the New Flavour shop.

Mr Fangarongo sneaked into the vehicle by opening the back door before he grabbed the empty cigarette carton box containing the cash.

The defendant left the vehicle and immediately fled the scene, carrying the box containing the cash, and ran along the road in front of the JQY Shop before he crossed the Mataniko River to Koa Hill.

Ms Zhen called after him, but he did not turn back or respond while he was running away.

On September 1, 2025, the victim reported the matter at the Central Police Station. The Police then conducted an investigation and identified the defendant as the offender in this matter. Two witnesses saw the incident and were able to identify the defendant as the offender.

On September 15, 2025, the defendant was arrested at Hagalu Village, Central Province after two weeks of evading police arrest.

On September 17, 2025, the defendant’s father-in-law provided a statement to the Police. He stated that the defendant gave him a large amount of money on the evening of the incident. The father-in-law kept the money hidden.

The Police managed to recover only $38,000.00 from that money at the defendant’s father-in-law’s residential area at Koa Hill Settlement.

Police Constable Mrs Ellen Anina prosecuted the case, and she represented the Office of the Police Prosecutions, and Mr Wally Hatingongo from the Public Solicitor’s Office represented the defendant.

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BY MELVILLE TITIULU

The Magistrate Court has entered a conviction sentence of 2 months imprisonment for a man who pleaded guilty to the possession and selling of Marijuana.

Charles Metea, 42, of Bazo village, Savo, Central Islands Province, was charged with one count of possession or sale of certain plants prohibited under section 8(b) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, as read with section 39 of the same Act.

The complainant is Isaac Tia of Bonala village, Savo, Central Islands Province.

Principal Magistrate Mrs Hilly Elma Veenah Rizu presided over the matter when it came for sentencing yesterday.

The court considered a deterrent approach for the fact that the defendant was merely using the sale of Marijuana as a means of commercial use, taken in the context where there exists an alarming increase of the widespread sale and use of the drug in the country.

The court also took into consideration the premeditation and planning involved, and the associated mental health risks that the substance drug abuse of Marijuana poses to younger generations.

In light of the seriousness of the offence, the court also considered his early guilty pleas, which saved court’s time and resources without running a full trial and calling witnesses and the fact that he is a first-time offender with no prior convictions.

Principal Magistrate Rizu also found that an element of entrapment was involved in the context where the complainant coordinated a controlled purchase of Marijuana by providing $20.00 to two persons, namely, Commins Mariu and Joseph Vilia.

The two men went to the defendant’s residence and enquired whether he was selling Marijuana. The defendant confirmed that he does, and they bought two rolls of Marijuana that were sold to them at $5.00 per roll.

These rolls were taken to the complainant, and the matter was reported to the police. The defendant was subsequently arrested and charged.

“An element of entrapment is an abuse of the criminal justice process,” the principal magistrate said.

She further called for an increase in crime prevention measures like awareness in communities to help curb the issue of the sale of marijuana, as opposed to employing entrapment tactics to arrest offenders.

The court imposed 3 months as the appropriate starting point for sentencing. One month was deducted for his early guilty plea, for which the court gave him full credit. Therefore, he was left with 2 months’ imprisonment.

Those 2 months were back-dated to March 26, 2026, the time the defendant spent in custody, thus the court was of the view that he had already served that bulk of 2-months, having been in custody since March 26, 2026, to date.

The court ordered that the defendant be released at the rising of the court.

Gabriel Maefiri acted on instructions from Vernon Taupongi, and he represented the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and Mr Daniel Onorio from the Public Solicitors’ Office represented the defendant.

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BY MELVILLLE TITIULU

The Magistrates’ Court has fined a man $300 for illegally selling bottles of mineral water within the limits of the Honiara Town boundaries without a valid hawker’s license.

Lazarus Teiba, of Takaranga village, Wagina, Choiseul Province, was charged with one count of Hawking in a public place without a hawker’s license, contrary to section 3(1) of the principal hawker’s ordinance and section 3 (2) of the Honiara City Council (Hawkers) amendment ordinance 2023.

The court heard Teiba was formally arrested and charged on April 15, 2026, after the HCC law enforcers spotted him selling 9 bottles of 1.5 litres of VFresh mineral water to members of the public at the Tuvaruhu bus stop along the Lower Holy Cross car park area.

The defendant failed to appear during his previous court appearances, prompting the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.

HCC law enforcement officers executed the warrant on Monday this week, leading to his re-arrest and appearance before the court to enter his plea.

Principal Magistrate Ben Alasia presided over the matter during sentencing earlier this week.

Mr Teiba pleaded guilty to the charge and was ordered to pay a fine of $300 by 9 am on Monday, May 25.

In default of payment, the defendant is to serve a further 1-month imprisonment at the Rove Correctional Centre.

That $300 fine was imposed by the court after it took into account the defendant’s personal circumstances in reaching that fine.

Francis Wales, case manager from the HCC Prosecution office, told Island Sun yesterday that those who normally sell water bottles along the street, mainly outside the Magistrate court, have special exemptions and are issued licenses under the Persons with special disability initiative, granted specifically to disabled people as a means to earn something to make a living.

The maximum penalty for the offence of Hawking in a public place without a hawker’s license is $1,000. The corresponding sentence is 40 days’ imprisonment.

The Head of HCC Law Enforcement Unit, Robert Madeo, told Island Sun that officers will continue to enforce the regulation through mobile patrols and monitoring within the Honiara township area.

Mr Madeo also warns street vendors against engaging in illegal hawking activities, saying offenders will be arrested and charged.

Mr Harry Bisafo prosecuted the matter, and he represented the HCC and the offender was self-represented in court.

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