State v Airi [1980] PGNC 38; N275 (20 November 1980)

Unreported National Court Decisions

N275

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

[NATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE]
THE STATE
V
JOHN AIRI OF KIVORIKUI

Waigani

Narokobi AJ
20 November 1980

SENTENCE

NAROKOBI AJ: e considered the matters yers your lawyer has placed on your behalf. I note your youthfulness. You have not as yet, acquired your right to vote in elections; nor do you as yet have the right tk political office. As agai against this, I must say, that you are not a child of 10 or 12. Even a child of that age may be charged with unlawful killing.

Your father died when you were young and you had to fend for yourself. In a way, you are like Benjamin in Jacob’s household, your Jacob left you when you were still a child.

Your mother and your brothers must be very disappointed with you. I too am disappointed. But, this will not get us far. You must look to the future. I cannot give you a non custodial sentence, nor can I give you a suspended sentence.

Young as you are, you have embarked on a life of adults, getting drunk and inviting trouble by getting involved in quarrels. Your throwing of the stone was deliberate and designed to hit the moving vehicle. It in itself was a criminal act.

If an adult did what you have done, I think a term of 6 years imprisonment would be well called for. For what you did was entirely unprovoked and dangerous. A child is now dead. You caused the end of the life of that child, well loved by its parents. The loneliness you would have felt arising out of the death of your father, would give you some idea of the misery you have caused with your reckless behaviour. In this case, I give particular, but not undue weight to deterrence. Youth must come to know that throwing stones at running vehicles in public and private places is dangerous.

Apart from the death of your father, you appear to be a normal young person. There is no medical evidence of anything wrong with you. You indulged in drinking which, under the law, you were not allowed to partake in because of your age. The result is exactly what the law makers had anticipated. You became “longlong” - “kawakawa” and picked up a stone and threw it, ending the life of a future citizen of Papua New Guinea.

I cannot ignore your previous convictions. They are of different offences, but they tell me of your unfortunate tendency to do the sort of things youths ought not do. You have gambled. You have broken into a house. You have stolen property. You have not raped and you have not murdered someone, but you certainly have caused the end of the life of a child.

I take note of the fact that you have been in custody 3 months and also of the fact that you have worked usefully, for 9 months. In the circumstances, I cannot treat you as a first offender. Instead, I will treat you as a young offender with prior convictions. I give no weight to gambling in my sentence, except it tells me of your general inclination towards criminality. I do give weight to the break and enter and hold it against you. You have a record, but it is not a bad record. It is of a young person who I have to sentence.

It is a pity that a young man like you will have to rub shoulders with hardened criminals. You may be exposed to pernicious and debasing influences in an adult penal establishment. But this, you must accept. Hopefully, you will emerge from it, a better man.

That is what my sad duty calls on me to do. I would have liked to sentence you to a Boys town, or a reformatory school. But, on a previous occassion when I had the sad duty to have to impose sentence on a youth who pleaded to breaking entering and stealing, I inquired if there are institutions to receive boys of your age. I was informed that when boys reach 16, institutions do not receive the offending youths of your age.

This is a sad state of affairs. It means, there is really nothing I can do except to imprison you. Your brothers and your mother are not here to assist me. There appears to be no welfare or probation officers in sight. Besides, I must think of the relatives of the child that is now dead.

Your tendency also discourages me from sending you to any reformatory school where you may have adverse influence on children of tenderer years.

I cannot say that you are a harmless or an amiable youth, unfortunately. The circumstances of this offence tell me so well how inclined you are towards violence and aggression. It seems to me that time has now arrived for you to serve a term of sentence to really experience the remorse you now feel for the trouble. It will also tell you, what you have done is very wrong.

I agree that by going to an adult prison, you will be in touch with adult offenders, some of whom are bad men. Taking your own personal welfare into account, that would be a bad thing. On the other hand, your influence on children in a boys town would not be good for them either. I must balance your personal interest and welfare against that of children who would be influenced by you. Though I give due weight to your welfare, it cannot be an exclusive weight at the cost of your personal reform, retribution and deterrence.

In some small way, I must stand in for the parents of the dead child and tell you very clearly that what you have done is not good. The stone throwing was not good. The intentions to hit the moving vehicle was not good. What you did before you threw the stone too was not good.

Our penal system has conflicting purposes and conflicting interests to balance. Imprisonment is the last resort. But there are not too many alternatives left, especially for a youth. Somehow, I must balance these interests to achieve equilibrium, stability and change, necessary for our onward progress.

This is the order, I propose to make against you:

(1) yoatbe i prisoned with ligh light labour for a period of 24 months.

(2) ټ I also also recommend that this term be served in a juvenile detention centre, should one be available to receive the offender.

(3) ;ټ&#In thnt that an i an institution does roes receive you, that you be placed in then the care care, control and custody of the DirectorChild Welfare and to obey all his lawful orders and directions for that period of time.

.

(4) ld ou insoitution be availavailable to receive the offender then the imprisonment under (2) stands, but that the prisoner is to 9 mo(effe 12) he ot2 months are to be suspended on conditions:

>

(i)&#(i) &160; #160;&#160 t&#that terenters into into a recognizance to be of good behaviour for a period of 2 years from to-day;

(ii) &#and thaowes tate of K0, K0, no cash.

Solicitor itor for tfor the Sthe State: ate: L. Gavara Nanu Public Prosecutor

Counsel: Mr Terracini & MguiSoli for efendant: Stan Cory

Co

Counselunsel: Sta: Stan Corn Cory