6 Aug 2013

Police and School partnership keeping peace in Tonga

2:57 pm on 6 August 2013

The police in Tonga say a police and school partnership has so far been working well to keep the peace between rival schools.

147 current and former students from Tupou College were arrested in relation to last month's attack that left two Tonga College students in hospital.

The police say a former Tonga College student, Taniela Halahuni, who suffered a skull fracture, is in a critical condition and only slightly responsive.

The police commissioner, Grant O'Fee, says police staff and prefects from Tonga, Tupou and Liahona Colleges have been working together since the attack.

"We've had the prefects from those schools walking with police staff around the areas that we know have been areas where we've had difficulties in the past, they've been wearing jerkins, sort of a police partnership with the schools, that's seemed to work reasonably well so far. And we've staggered the finals of the rugby games so that we don't just have one big day of rugby."

Grant O'Fee says police have been rostered with the school partnership for the next couple of months, and the schools are very keen to continue it.

All arrested in relation to the attack are expected to appear in court over the 9th, 10th and 11th of August.