Posted on: Tuesday, August 28, 2001

Woman must write apology in golf bribe case

By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer

A Honolulu woman who admitted bribing a starter at the city's Ala Wai Golf course will have to write a letter of apology that will be posted at the golf course and will be banned from playing on any of the city's municipal golf courses for five years when she is sentenced Nov. 9.

In addition, the terms of an agreement with the city prosecutor's office call for Yong Cha Toyomura to be placed on five years' probation, perform 250 hours of community service and make a $2,000 contribution to the criminal victims compensation fund.

Speaking through a Korean language interpreter, Toyomura told Circuit Judge Richard Perkins that she paid an Ala Wai starter a bribe on March 24, 2000, in order to receive a preferred starting time. Toyomura's plea agreement calls for her to testify against former Ala Wai starter Janice Kakugawa at trial.

Kakugawa, 55, and Lawrence Helekahi, 35, were arrested in June 2000 after a three-month undercover investigation into starter practices at the Ala Wai.

Police said at the time of the arrests that the investigation was launched after regular golfers at the Ala Wai noticed that certain other golfers appeared to get preferred starting times once or twice a week.

City Deputy Prosecutor Rowena Somerville said after the court hearing that as a general rule, Toyomura and others would pay the Ala Wai starters in question "$5 a head" to get preferred starting times.

"Typically, a sixsome would pay $30 and a foursome would pay $20," Somerville said.

In exchange for pleading guilty to one count of bribery and agreeing to testify at Kakugawa's trial, five other bribery counts against Toyomura were dismissed, Somerville said.

She said an investigation is continuing in hopes of bringing charges against other golfers who bribed starters in order to get preferential treatment.