‘Tongan Sam’ face court charged with seven offences
Semi ‘Tongan Sam’ Ngata – the former bodyguard of John Ibrahim – was in court to face seven offences, including pistol and drink driving charges.
Fairfield
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Tongan Sam, the former bodyguard of John Ibrahim whose real name is Semi Ngata, presented to Fairfield Local Court on September 5 over firearm and drink driving charges.
Mr Ngata, 61, was charged with possession of a firearm after his DNA was found on a pistol on July 25, and was charged with six offences after he allegedly crashed into three parked cars while under the influence on April 2.
Both sets of charges were addressed at the motions hearing on Thursday, where Mr Ngata upheld his plea of ‘not guilty’ to all charges.
His lawyer sought an adjournment of six weeks, however Magistrate Suzanne Seagrave declined the request and scheduled a hearing in two weeks’ time.
Mr Ngata is currently on bail with strict conditions, including curfews, drug and alcohol testing, and bans on travelling interstate or overseas. His bail has been extended accordingly.
The Bayard pistol he has been charged with possessing was found during the search of a 2003 Nissan Patrol being driven by a 26-year-old in January. It was found wrapped in a sock within the glove compartment.
At a previous hearing on July 25, his lawyer claimed Mr Ngata’s DNA profile, found on the gun, could’ve been transferred from the sock.
The prosecution refuted the assertion claiming that, although four DNA profiles had been on the sock, only Mr Ngata’s profile was found on the pistol.
On April 2, Mr Ngata was allegedly driving down Memorial Avenue, Merrylands, when he crashed his car into three parked vehicles, before abandoning it.
He was charged with drink driving, drive recklessly, negligent driving and three counts of not giving particulars to other drivers.
Mr Ngata will next present to Fairfield Local Court on September 19.
