Police and Prisons Commissioner, Fuiavailiili Egon Keil, has urged members of the public, especially motorists, to take extra caution with the upcoming long Father’s Day weekend.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer, the Police and Prisons Commissioner reminded that drunk driving is illegal in Samoa.

“To make it safe, if you’re going to drink, please drink responsibly," he said.

Fuiavailiili particularly wanted members of the public to stay away from driving if they are going to consume alcohol.

“There are a lot of issues that come from incidents particularly involving alcohol.”

He added that one of the things that they have noticed is that during long weekends like Father’s Day, domestic violence incidents increase.

The Police and Prisons urged the public to drink responsibly especially to avoid police officers having to be called in to investigate domestic violence cases.

“We do not want to come out to your house; we want to keep it nice and calm. 

“We want a boring weekend, no brawls or throwing rocks incidents or alcohol related incidents.

“If it’s a busy one, it puts a lot of stress on Police officers and our resources.”

Fuiavailiili also used one of their murder cases which involved alcohol as an example of the dangers of the abuse of alcohol.

He specifically mentioned a case where two men have been charged with the murder of a young man who was killed last Sunday at Fiaga, Aleisa.

“The incident of a young adult male where he was brutally attacked, bounded hands and legs that led to his death.

“What’s disturbing from the case is alcohol being involved which is locally produced vodka.

“There have been many cases where people have consumed this vodka and lose control and often tend to not know what happened.

“They repent the next day but the damage has already been done. We are seeing too many incidents that involve alcohol but it seems that it is mostly related to this hard liquor made in Samoa.”

He also added that it is a concern for him as the Police and Prisons Commissioner because it affects the people of Samoa.

“It’s cheap and easy to attain but it gets you drunk quickly. But it leads to overcrowding in court, hospital and prison from so many incidents.

“We are trying to do everything we can here but we only enforce the law, we don’t make the law.

“We try to respond as best we can in all these circumstances and other areas police is tasked with, not only to protect our citizens but also our officers. And happy Father’s Day to all the fathers of Samoa.”