Samoa's police are facing a nearly $US40,000 lawsuit brought by a man for allegedly breaching his constitutional rights.
Samoan police headquarters in Apia Photo: RNZI/Sally Round
Malo Mose claimed he was arrested and charged in February even though he told police he didn't understand Samoan.
Mr Mose said he refused to sign a written statement police gave him because it was in Samoan and he didn't understand it.
The Samoa Observer reported the charges against Mose were thrown out in August after police said they did not have sufficient evidence to proceed.
The statement of claim, filed by lawyer Mauga Precious Chang, argued that the police officers abused their power by arresting Mose without good cause and without admissible evidence to support the charge.
The claim also said police did not conduct a proper investigation before taking any action.
A date has yet to be set for hearing the claim.
