KOROR, PALAU – On October 25, 2022, the Office of the Special Prosecutor on behalf of the Republic filed a motion for an order to show cause regarding Defendant, Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr., in Criminal Case No. 09-092. The motion requests a hearing as to why Defendant’s nonpayment of fines in accordance with the Court-ordered payment plan entered August 21, 2021, should not be treated as contumacious (stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority). This is the second time Republic requested a show cause hearing against Remengesau, Jr. in this matter.
In 2009, Remengesau, Jr. was convicted of two Ethics Code violations for having failed to properly disclose his interest in property in 2002 and 2003. His convictions were upheld by the Appellate Division of the Palau Supreme Court on March 30, 2011. Between that time and the order entered August 21, 2021, Defendant still owed $144,750 of the original $156,400 fine. Although ten years passed, eight of them while he was President of the Republic, the Court determined after the previous show cause hearing held August 16, 2021, that because he had not been put on supervised probation nor given a payment plan, the Court could not find Remengesau, Jr. in violation of any of the provisions of the sentence.
Given his ability to pay and to assure future timely payments to the Republic, Presiding Justice Kathleen M. Salii ordered Remengesau, Jr. to pay the complete fine by August 13, 2025, clarifying her order by stating: “payments shall be made on a monthly basis in installments of not less than $3,020.00 a month payable on the 20th of each month to the Clerk of Court.” As of the date of the Republic’s show cause request, Defendant is alleged to be $21,820 behind on his payment plan.
The Court granted Republic’s motion, scheduling a show cause hearing for November 8, 2022, at 2:30 p.m. in Courtroom 101, Trial Division, Palau Supreme Court, Koror, Palau.