16 Aug 2002

Tongan students back in court on Tuesday

3:59 pm on 16 August 2002

Dozens of Tongan students will spend several more days in custody after a court hearing this morning was deferred until Tuesday.

Nearly 250 students from Tupou College are facing wilful damage charges after a destructive spree at rival Tonga College early on Wednesday morning.

Today's hearing was put off because police had not had enough time to process the charges for the large group of students.

The students allegedly smashed windows, computers, musical instruments and a school truck, after a series of clashes following two rugby successes by Tonga college over Tupou College.

The damage has been estimated at around quarter of a million US dollars.