Death during brawl at league game in Samoa raises safety question

By Talaia Mika, RNZ Pacific Samoa correspondent

There's been a call for police in Samoa to attend local sports matches after the death of a man during a rugby league game over the weekend.

The incident has raised questions about safety at community sporting events, but police say discipline cannot depend solely on officers being present.

A Marist Saints rugby league player, known as Saveatama Faamavaega Saveatama, died as a result of an altercation at the Vaiala Rugby Fields on Saturday during a match between Marist Saints and the Apia Barracudas.

Social media was flooded with footage of the brawl between players which continued in spite of the deceased lying flat on the ground, unconscious.

Brawl on video

It was only until the altercation eased off that some people turned to the deceased and assisted although it was too late.

RNZ understands that these videos have all been reported to police as part of the collected evidence.

Acting Police Commissioner Leiataua Samelu Afamasaga said no one had been charged as investigators continued to gather evidence.

"The evidence needs to be beyond reasonable doubt before we can charge someone. We haven't found anyone yet," he said.

"So our investigation continues and we need to be satisfied that there is enough evidence to charge a certain suspect."

Leiataua said while tragedies cannot always be prevented, police remain focused on taking a proactive approach to law enforcement.

"The thing is, we cannot avoid what has already happened and the things that happen as part of life. However, we try and be proactive and preventive through our work as law enforcement."

'Refrain from retaliatory actions'

The Samoa Police, Prisons and Corrections Services (SPPCS) are continuing to investigate the incident and are appealing to members of the public who may have recorded videos or possess any footage to provide it directly to investigators or through the SPPCS' Facebook page.

"While videos are circulating on social media, the public is strongly urged to provide any such footage to the police, as it may assist significantly with the investigation," police said in a statement.

Authorities said public cooperation was vital in helping maintain peace and order at sporting events while supporting the pursuit of justice for the family of the deceased.

Police also urged those involved not to retaliate.

"We urge all parties involved to refrain from retaliatory actions. Such conduct will be dealt with swiftly and will face the full extent of the law."

The incident has also prompted calls for a stronger police presence at community rugby matches.

Attempts to get a comment from the mayor of Vaiala on how the village bylaws are handling the matter, were unsuccessful.

Village concern

A village meeting for Vaiala was expected to take place to discuss matters pertaining to the village including this incident.

Vaiala's female representative, Sileoleoga Patu Wilson, described the incident as deeply concerning and said it was the first time she had heard of someone dying in connection with games in Vaiala.

"This is the first time I have heard of someone dying from such games especially here in Vaiala so this is concerning and we need to make sure this doesn't happen again," she told RNZ Pacific.

"Part of that is making sure the police are present at these events to prevent such behaviour from taking place."

Wilson said she did not know the full circumstances surrounding the incident but believed it highlighted the need to encourage young people to stay away from violence.

"I don't have any specific information about what happened but for me as the female representative for Vaiala, it's important to encourage our young ones to stay away from such behaviours."

She said it remained unclear whether the victim was from Vaiala, who the young people involved were or exactly what had happened.

"We're not sure at the moment whether the victim is from Vaiala and who the kids involved are and what exactly happened and whether he was a player or whatever but it did happen."

Wilson said spectators needed to stop interfering with matches and allow referees to do their jobs.

"So it's important to advice our young ones to stop with this behaviour and stop interfering with the games. That's what the referees are for and I see a lot of this happen not just here in Vaiala but elsewhere too as there's a lot of rugby fields across the country now."

She added that while villages have councils, chiefs and bylaws to deal with such behaviour, police presence at games, as had occurred in the past, could also help deter violence.

"We have our village councils and chiefs and bylaws that deal with such matters within villages as well as the police and we would appreciate it if the police officers were to be present at the fields during the games like how it was back then."

Police can't be 'superman'

Responding to those calls, Leiataua said there was no law requiring police officers to be present at every rugby match.

"There is no law that states something like that, that we should be at all the games. There's more than 20 games happening at the same times as the others so we cannot be at all the games.

"We only do something like that when it's the international games. We also show support or attend when we're requested to by certain clubs and so forth."

Instead, he said discipline should already be embedded within rugby clubs and communities through the values of Fa'asamoa.

"So the discipline and that should already be instilled in any rugby union (or clubs) and the everyday Fa'asamoa that we're used to which is respect and everything else that comes with it.

"This mentality that discipline is only possible when police is around shouldn't be a thing. It should already be there everywhere with or without the police's supervision."

Asked whether police would review how officers are deployed following the incident, Leiataua said it was something authorities could consider but cautioned against assuming police presence alone would prevent violence.

"The only thing we can do is look into it. If a brawl or fight was to break out and there's four police officers present, they won't be able to prevent something like that from happening.

"So with or without police supervision, it'll still be the same if we all don't work together.

"It'd be nice if we had superpowers like Superman. But again, police or no police, nothing won't work if we don't work together."

Police are appealing for anyone who recorded the incident or has relevant footage to provide it directly to investigators, saying the material could prove crucial in helping establish exactly what happened and supporting the pursuit of justice for the family of the deceased.