Police v Anton [2018] PGDC 12; DC3098 (6 February 2018)

DC3098
PAPUA NEW GUINEA

[IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF JUSTICE

SITTING IN ITS CRIMINAL JURISDICTION]

Cr. 39 of 2017

BETWEEN:

THE POLICE

Informant

AND

BARBARA ANTON

Defendant

Goroka, P Kaumba, Magistrate

2018: January 31

February 6
CRIMINA:

Cases Cited:
Nil

References:
Nil

Counsel:

Lawyer for the Informant, Police Prosecutor,RocksyGitene.

Lawyer for the Defendant,In person.

6^th February, 2018

SENTENCE

P KAUMBA, Magistrate: Onthe 2^nd of February 2018I found you guilty of unlawfully on premises and I reserved my decision on the same with your unlawful assault case to today for sentencing and my ruling on sentence is as follows:

(A) UNLAWFUL ASSAULT (Section 6(3)of Summary Offences Act(SOA)

You pleaded guilty to the charge on the 17^th day January 2018 and I reserved my ruling on sentence with the charge of unlawfully on premises(below) because they are related, in that they arise from the same incident that happened on the same day and at the same time. Since I have heard evidence on the charge below and found the defendant guilty. I am ready to hand down my ruling on your charge of assault.

(1) Unlawful Assault.
Section 6(3) of the SOA reads:

A person who unlawfully assaults another person is guilty of an offence.
Penalty: A fine not exceeding K500.00 or imprisonment not exceeding two years.
For purposes of considering penalty, Section 6(4) SOA is applicable here. Section6(4) of SOA reads: ‘Where a court convicts a person of an offence against Subsection(3), it may order him to pay-

(a) to the person, in relation to whom the offence was convicted or
(b) to any person who suffers bodily injury or damage to property to the person occasioned by or in the course of the commission of the offence, as it considers just.

(2) BRIEF FACTS.

On the 23rd of November 2017 between 700am and 800am the defendant, her mother and sister went to the victims residence atSogalepa, Asariufa village Goroka Eastern Highlands Province shouting and once in the premises argued with the victim/complainant and assaulted her. The matter was reported to police and the defendant was arrested and charged on the 16^th of January 2018.

(3) ANTECEDENT REPORT.

The defendant is aged 29 years old and divorced single mother with 4 Children and works as an Assistant Clerk of Asaroufa Village Court Goroka Eastern Highlands Province.

(4) STARTING POINT.
The middle range for the court to start in assessing penalty by addition and subtraction is K250.00fine or one year imprisonment

(5) MITIGATING FACTORS.
Mitigating factors in the offenders favour are:

(i) First Time Offender.
(ii) The fact that offender pleaded guilty and made the work of police and

the court easy.

(6) The AGGRAVATING FACTORS.
The aggravating factors against the offender are:

(i) The offender is a Village Court clerk and she showed a bad example by attacking the victim/complainant at her residence.
(ii) The offence of girls and women attacking another girl or women is prevalent in our community and there is aoutcry in our community to punish such offenders and the court needs to take note of the same and punish offenders appropriately as it sees it and send a message to girls and our women in our community to change their attitudes and not to take the law into their own hands and cause problems and give a lot of work to police, the courts and correctional services and thereby putting a stress on public finance and ultimately the taxpayers in the country who have to dig deep into their pockets to pay police, courts and correctional services to keep law and order and punish law breakers in our country.

(7) CONSIDERATIONS.

I have tried to deductand add up the penalty taking into account the mitigating and aggravating factors and the mitigating and aggravating factors are the same in number and they bringme to the mid-range again. However the most weighty factor that makes the court to look at the offenders sentence beyond the mid-range and up the scale is the prevalencefactor buttaking into account the fact that the offender is asingle mother of four(4) children,it would be harsh on the children to give her a sentence of imprisonment. I also take into account her apology to the court and her undertaking not to offend again and I am of the viewthatthe appropriate penalty for heris for an order for herto pay compensation to the victim/complainant. I intend to order compensationpursuant to section 6(4) of the SOA. In that regard I assess compensation of K200.00 to be appropriate in the circumstances of hercase and I hope she will not offend again as she stated in herallocutus statement.

(B) UNLAWFULLY ON PREMISES(Section 20 of the SOA)

The offender pleaded not guilty to the charge and the case was set down for trial on the 31^st of January 2018. The matter was heard and I adjourned court for decision on liability to the 2^nd of February 2018. I also reviewed her bail and granted her cash bail of K100.00.My decision on guilt was handed down on the 2^nd of February 2018 and I adjourned court for ruling on sentence to today and extended her bail to today.

(8) CHARGE.
Section 20 of the SOA reads:
A person who, without reasonable excuse, is in, on or adjacent to any premises is guilty of an offence.
Penalty: A fine not exceeding K400.00 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.

(1) BRIEF FACTS AND ANTECEDENT REPORT(supra).
(2) MITIGATING FACTORS

Mitigating factor in the offenders favour:

(i) First time offender.

(9) AGGRAVATING FACTORS.
Aggravating factors against the offender are:

(i) She is a Village Court clerk and she showed a bad example by going into another person’s premises and commit a criminal offence.
(ii) Prevalence of such offences in our community(see detail above under assault).

(10) STARTING POINT.

(i) Mid-range is K200 or imprisonment of one year.

(11)CONSIDERATIONS & SENTENCE.
I have assessed your penalty starting from the mid-range and your aggravating factors outweigh your mitigating factors. Thus you need to be punished with a penalty above the mid-range.However I considered your position as a single mother with 4 children to look after and fining you with a higher fine and sending you to prison will be harsh and oppressive to your children and it will not be in the best interest of your innocent children who will be affected by any decision I make and taking into account your undertaking that you will not offend again and your apology to the court,I asses fine at K100.00 will be appropriate in the circumstances of the offenders case.

(12)ORDER.

The formal orders of the court are:

1. The offender shall pay K200.00 compensation to the complainant/victim Ms AnniKaripe within 14 days of this order. In default the offender shall do community work for the Goroka Urban Local Level Government(GULLG) for one month under the supervision of the Manager GULLG, Harold Abori or his delegate from 9.00am to 4.06 pm everyworking day of a week for one month commencing on the 21^st of February 2018 at 9.00am until sentence is served and the said Manager GULLG or his delegate shall do a report on the same at the completion of the sentence by the offender (or at any time during the period of sentence as he deems necessary) for appropriate action by the court.
   
2. The offender shall pay K100.00 fine to the state forthwith and in that regard I direct that her court bail money of K100.00 be forfeited to the state as court fine.
   

Counsels:

Lawyer for the Informant, Police Prosecutor,RocksyGitene.

Lawyer for the Defendant,In person.