Tonga minister resigns after drunken bender

A government minister in Tonga has been forced to resign after being drunk and abusive in public.

Agriculture Minister Peauafi Haukinima quit the government today last week after he was evicted from a hotel in the country's capital Nuku'alofa.

Haukinima was later arrested by the police and locked up for drunkenness, according to the Matangi Tonga website.

A spokesman for Tongan Prime Minister Dr Feleti Sevele confirmed the story.

He said Haukinima was drunk and verbally abusive, but would not detail what the minister had said.

"It's part of the reason he resigned. I am not at liberty to tell you about what he did," he said.

It is understood the minister was repeatedly asked to leave the hotel before police were called.

- AAP