A Samoan Chief who falsely promised two people a better way of life, has been jailed for 16 years after being convicted of numerous charges relating to slavery, rape and indecent assault.
Moeaia Tuai, 63, was sentenced in the Auckland High Court today.
Detective Inspector Warrick Adkin of Counties Manukau CIB said the bravery of Mr Tuai’s two victims and a strong partnership between Police and Immigration New Zealand led to the successful prosecution.
“The charges are the result of more than two years of work by Immigration New Zealand and New Zealand Police, dating back to 2024 when the first allegations of Tuai’s offending were brought to our attention,” he said.
The offending relates to two Samoan nationals who Mr Tuai arranged to bring to New Zealand in 2016.
“Initially the victims were promised a good education and a better way of life,” says Det Insp Adkin.
“But that’s not what happened, instead he put them to work, kept their wages and assaulted them.
“For the victims to stand up in court against a Matai is significant in their culture, but they did it and their compelling evidence led to a conviction.”
He says the conviction and subsequent sentence is the culmination of a lot of hard work from a number of teams across the board.
“This is a great result and I’d like to acknowledge the hard work of our investigation team, who worked tirelessly to bring this case to court, and the specialist agencies who supported the victims throughout this process.”
“Immigration New Zealand is committed to supporting Police to ensure those who deliberately harm or take advantage of others are held accountable,” says Jason Perry, National Manager Immigration Investigations (Immigration New Zealand).
“Immigration Investigators worked closely with Police throughout the operation, helping to ensure those responsible for these often hidden crimes are brought to justice.
“Coordinated action like this is essential to protecting vulnerable people and raising awareness. If you see signs of exploitation, report it.”
Mr Tuai was sentenced to 16 years and four months’, with a non-parole period of eight years.
For more information on how to identify and report concerns related to serious exploitation, visit Working to stop migrant exploitation : Immigration New Zealand.
