In 1996, Moala and editor Filokalafi Akau’ola were imprisoned for 30 days for contempt of parliament after reporting on a motion in the Legislative Assembly which criticised a government minister.
[4][5] In 2002, editor Mateni Tapueluelu was charged with sedition and forgery over the publication of a letter claiming king Taufa'ahau Tupou IV had a secret fortune.
[11] The failure of the ban caused the government to amend the constitution to limit judicial review of royal decisions.
[12] In 2004, the newspaper was banned under a new Media Operators Act, which prohibited foreign owned publications.
[15] In 2005, Tonga's crown prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala claimed that the newspaper's legal problems were due to a personal vendetta by then Police Minister Clive Edwards.