A church minister of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa or CCCS, the Reverend Penaia Semo Koro, has denied a charge of murder in the Supreme Court.
The original charge of manslaughter against the church minster has been withdrawn by the prosecution and replaced with murder.
This follows an incident last Christmas in Samata i tai village on Savaii island where the accused allegedly struck the victim with a torch during a dance at a social event.
The Reverend Penaia has been released on bail to await his trial now set to begin in August.
