Samoa's Attorney General says cheap alcohol is fueling violent crime and an increase in the alcohol tax is necessary.
A bill to raise taxes by the percentage of alcohol in beverages is currently before Samoa's lawmakers.
The Attorney General Lemalu Herman Retzlaff said 80 per cent of violent crime such as murder, manslaughter and grievous bodily harm is directly related to alcohol.
Lemalu said recommendations in a report by the Samoa Law Reform Commission will help prevent crime.
Samoa Attorney General Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff. Photo: twitter
"The reason why this is an important report is because it's saying that we need to deal with it before our youth start drinking alcohol," he said.
"We're dealing with cheap alcohol.
"We're dealing with cheap vodka that you purchase at something like under 15 tala Samoan and you're dealing with the accessibility of this alcohol by goodness knows how young the purchaser are."
