13 Jul 2015

Freed prisoners in Tonga had shown better attitudes

8:08 am on 13 July 2015

Tonga's Commissioner of Prisons, Sione Falemanu, says the 23 prisoners chosen for early release this week had shown satisfactory improvements in their attitudes.

Tonga's King Tupou VI

Tonga's King Tupou VI Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Indira Stewart

The release was done to mark the coronation of King Tupou VI.

The Commissioner says the prisoners, chosen from those jailed for four years or more, had all completed at least two thirds of their jail terms.

Mr Falemanu says some had committed serious crimes but they had undertaken rehabilitation work while in jail.

"There are some good programmes in the prison. We have interesting programmes that we selected those prisoners from. And we hope that these prisoners will do better when they are released into the community."