Samoa Court to Probe Infant Deaths
Samoa’s District Court will conduct a coronial inquest into the deaths of two oneyear-old babies, who died after receiving the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine in July last year at Safotu district hospital. On Friday, the Supreme Court sentenced two nurses to five years in jail after they pleaded guilty to negligence causing the manslaughter of the infants, Lana Samuelu and Lameko Sui.
When delivering the decision, the acting chief justice Vui Clarence Nelson said a medical report showed the vaccine had been incorrectly mixed with an expired anesthetic.
He added six months to the fiveyear sentence of Nurse Luse Tauvale, who also pleaded guilty to conspiring to defeat the cause of justice by concealing the syringes and the bottle which contained the anesthetic.
She revealed the items two weeks into the Police investigation into the deaths.
The Samoa Observer reported that Police told the court the other nurse, Leutogi Te’o, administered the same mixture to the second child despite being warned by nurses not to use it.
The parents of both babies said
they accepted the Supreme Court’s decision and had forgiven the nurses.
Nurses get five years for manslaughter
Two senior Samoan nurses, who pleaded guilty to negligence causing the manslaughter of two infants, have been sentenced to five years in prison.
The nurses administered doses of the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine that had been incorrectly mixed with another substance.
TV1 Samoa reported Luse Emo Tauvale was jailed for five years and six months while Leutogi Te’o received five years.
Acting Chief Justice Vui Clarence Nelson said there was no question in his mind that an imprisonment sentence was required.
He said the nurses were accountable for the harm they had caused – not only to the victims whose lives were cut short – but also to the families involved.
The two toddlers Lannacalastah Samuelu and Lameko Sui died within minutes of receiving the vaccine at Safotu hospital in Savaii last year.