Three women discharged after admitting assault

Press, 13 September 1988, Page 14

Three women discharged after admitting assault

Three women were discharged without conviction after pleading guilty to a joint charge of assaulting another woman at her flat on July 14. The defendants, two sisters, Helen Faamafu Tuatau, aged 18, Sulia Kolotita Tuatau, aged 20, both unemployed, and represented by Mr M. J. Knowles, and Sandra Jane Somerville, aged 21, unemployed (Mr S. Taylor). The three had changed their pleas from not

guilty, to guilty yesterday to the joint charge of assaulting Anne Katrina Belton. Defence submissions . were made that the offences had arisen from an on-going dispute among occupants of adjoining flats in a block, after the complainants said kittens strayed into her part of the property. Judge Fogarty said that the defendants had gone the wrong way about sorting the matter

out. He took into account that the three had not been before the court before, and acceded to counsel’s request for discharges without conviction. Sergeant M. J. South prosecuted. He said the complainant had suffered bruises on her head and face after being pushed against a wall and hit on the face.