Pau, who grew up in New Zealand, then returned to tackle and exchange blows with the male victim, who managed to restrain and calm him down.
At that point, Pau seemed to come to his senses and apologised repeatedly, saying he thought it was his ex's house and that she was cheating on him.
He smelt of alcohol, his eyes were glassy and he looked like he had been crying.
The following month, while out on bail, he entered his sister-in-law's backyard at night, peered into her bedroom window and performed various lewd acts including lowering his trousers and masturbating.
Before that, he had also called the woman several times and played pornographic sounds to her. He was arrested after.
In jail, he threatened to kill his then-partner over the phone when he thought he heard a male voice in the background calling her by her pet name.
He pleaded guilty to all the offences and in January 2021, the Katoomba District Court sentenced him to three years in jail for the aggravated break and enter, triggering the cancellation of his Australian visa.
The sentencing judge said Pau was remorseful and contrite, and his assault on sleeping victims was below the mid-range of objective seriousness.
Pau broke into the house through an unlocked closed door without making any attempt to disguise himself, and the offending was "not well-planned nor particularly well executed", the judge said.
His intention to remonstrate with an ex's male friend was bizarre because it had been a while since that relationship ended and he already had a partner and children at the time.
The day before the incident, he was at the wake of his grandfather with whom he was very close.
The sentencing judge said he turned to drugs and alcohol to deal with his grief and inability to cope with the stresses of life.
Pau was born in Samoa and moved to New Zealand at age 4 before going to Australia with his family when he was 20.
In Australia, he played sport and excelled at rugby league, while also working in the concrete industry for more than eight years as a "most valued employee" and sole breadwinner for his large family, according to the Tribunal.
He has a 6-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old boy, and was close to his adopted siblings from Samoa, who are 12 and 10.
His ex-partner asked the Tribunal to let him stay, saying his character as a father shone through "with bright colours".
The Tribunal agreed, saying it would be in these children's best interests that Pau be allowed to stay in Australia.
He did not have a propensity for violence and his offending in 2020 was "an aberration", Tribunal senior member Professor Paul Fairall said.
"His offending is out of character, and as the judge described it, 'bizarre'. He seems to have experienced some kind of a breakdown in mid-2020 and succumbed to alcohol, drugs and sexual fantasies," Fairall's decision read.
Despite spending a long time in New Zealand where he did all of his schooling, Pau has no family left in New Zealand or Samoa. His relatives are all in Australia, including his parents, adopted sister and brother, grandmother, aunt and uncle.
The Tribunal revoked the mandatory cancellation of Pau's visa on October 14, saying the factors in favour outweighed those against him as a whole.
Pau also said he suffered from depression in silence for a long time, but evidence showed he had a strong family and other carers to support his rehabilitation.
"Whether he is able to rise to this challenge will depend on his ability to restrain his use of drugs and alcohol," the Tribunal said.
