12 Feb 2009

Review of weekend parole before Samoa cabinet today

2:22 pm on 12 February 2009

Samoa's acting police commissioner says a review of the weekend parole system is before cabinet today.

The programme, which has been in place for 40 years, was put on hold at the beginning of the month following the beating of an elderly taxi driver by a weekend parole prisoner.

Papalii Li'o declined to be interviewed but our correspondent, Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia, says there is no public support for the programme to be reinstated.

"Most of the public opinion shown in the local newspapers, they are calling on the government to stop, because they are saying if people are broke the law and they are convicted in court and sentenced to jail, they must serve their sentence in full before they are released to their families, and that's how it should be."

Autagavaia Tipi Autagavaia says he was told by a senior police officer at Samoa's main prison that some inmates were released under the parole system last weekend and it's not clear exactly what is happening with the programme.