Previous Story
2 women jailed over fake birth certificate
|
Posted on Feb 05 2001
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (PIDP/CPIS) — Two women accused of supplying false birth certificates identification to local residents were found guilty last week by a jury of four women and two men.
Lemapu Tuia, a single mother of six with another on the way, was originally charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit forgery and one count of forgery. Her co-conspirator, Tumema Sua, was originally charged with one count of forgery and two counts of conspiracy to commit forgery.
However, Tuia, a former government employee at the office that issues birth certificates, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy and not guilty of the other charges. Tuia was found guilty of one count of forgery and not guilty of the conspiracy charges.
The government dropped other charges after its key witnesses changed their testimony.
Conspiracy to commit forgery is a class D felony that calls for five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Forgery is a class C felony that calls for seven years in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Chief Justice Michael Kruse told the court that the two have been convicted of “crimes of moral turpitude” and scheduled sentencing for February 23.
The case came to light after the U.S. Passport Office in Honolulu found discrepancies in two birth certificates brought into their office for passports. The birth certificates were forwarded to the local Attorney General’s Office for investigation and later resulted in the charges last year.
The birth certificates were sold to natives of Samoa residing in the territory and in Apia, Samoa. Court documents showed that close to $2,000 cash was exchanged for the purchase of the birth certificates.
A former Samoa police officer, who wanted six birth certificates for his family to permit them to travel to the U.S. to reside there permanently, told investigators that the defendants told him to provide more than $1,000 in cash for the documents.
The sale never went through as police officers were already on the case.
