The two brothers Nasif Naushad Ali, 35, and Satye Sai Raju, 29, appeared in the Nuku’alofa Supreme Court for sentencing by Chief Justice Anthony Ford.
Ali pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing counterfeit materials and making counterfeit pa’anga notes, while his younger brother Raju pleaded guilty to three counts of making counterfeit notes and putting it out into circulation.
The court was told that on May 3 this year, Ali used his computer and a color printer to print ten 50 pa’anga notes on A4 size paper. He also used the same process to print five copies of 20 pa’anga notes, which he learnt from a friend in Fiji.
Raju assisted Ali in the process by using a cutter to cut up the notes before going out to do some shopping to test it. They were arrested shortly a few days after when a shopkeeper recognized the counterfeit notes.
The chief justice said an offence of this kind was very serious for which the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment.
“The court must pass an imprisonment sentence to deter other people from following your example. You produced two batches of notes and it is clear if the shopkeeper did not pick it up you would have manufactured more,” he added. “This is a major problem in third world countries and we do not want to see it a problem in this Kingdom.”
