Prosecution witness Marie Tusi gave contradicting testimony in the District Court on Thursday to the one she had given a day earlier in a high-profile conspiracy case.

La'auli Leuatea Schmidt, Fepuleai Saumata Sua, Lio Faataumalama, Sam Sua, Sivai Kepi and Lisemarie Schmidt have denied multiple charges of conspiracy to defeat the course of justice, fabricating evidence, defamation, insulting words and harassment using electronic devices. Their trial is in its third week.

Tusi told the court on Wednesday that she was not present when teenager Tu'au Fa'asavalu was killed by a vehicle on 21 April 2021. On Thursday, she said she was there at the scene.

At the end of the Wednesday session, she informed the court that she wanted to change her testimony because the police were pressuring her to make the two statements about the incident.

During cross-examination on Thursday, defence counsel Samuelu Sua and Sivai, Kathryn Dalziel asked Marie to reconfirm if she saw the hit and run incident at Vaitele and Marie said "yes."

Dalziel asked the witness if the police made her say that Sam sexually violated her, and her reply was "yes".

Marie was asked by Dalziel to reconfirm if she told Fepuleai when she first met him that she was present at the scene of the incident, and she replied "yes."

She was again asked if what she said in her written statement that she didn't see the incident was not true, she said, "correct."

Dalziel also questioned Tusi if the accident incident was the last time she had seen Sam. Tusi said yes.

She was asked if Fepuleai had an argument with Sam about who was dropping her off at Mareke Lodge; she said no.

She was again asked if Salale (police officer) forced her to admit that she was not at the crime scene at Vaitele, and she said yes.

Counsel for La'auli, Lise Schmidt, and Fepuleai, Richard Marchant KC, asked Tusi if she was at the scene with Sam. She said yes.

She was asked if police made her put in her written statement that Fepuleai attempted to rape her. Tusi said Fepuleai didn't rape her.

Marchant put to her if the police put pressure on her to make her say that she wasn't at the scene, she responded, Yes.

Prosecutor Leinafo Taimalelagi Strickland, during re-examination, put to the witness again that if she saw the whole incident that killed Tu'au, and she said yes.

Leinafo reminded Tusi that her testimony on Thursday was different from her evidence on Wednesday and asked her where she was residing during the period of the general election on 9 April 2021, Tusi replied that she was living with her husband at Salelologa.

A couple of questions about reconfirming where she was staying during the time of the election were not answered by Marie, saying she didn't understand Leinafo's questions.

Judge Talasa Atoa-Sa'aga adjourned the matter for Friday and for prosecution to use this time to re-evaluate questions with the witness and continue re-examining today.