State v Kobepen [1999] PGNC 45; N1882 (4 June 1999)

Unreported National Court Decisions

N1882

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

[NATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE]

CR NO. NO. 27 OF 1999
THE STATE
-V-
SAP JAMES KOBEPEN

Goroka

Kirriwom J
4 June 1999

Counsel

Ms R. Johnson for the State

Mr M. Apie’e for the Prisoner

SENTENCE

4 June 1999

KIRRIWOM J: You pleaded guiltyhe murdemurder of an innocent child aged three years old. On thht of 16th October 19er 1998 about 10:30 pm you went to theises of Victor Kopen Hapon, a school teacher at Konkua SDA Community School at Kainantu.&#1u. You wemed with a bush-knif-knife.; There you called out for for Kopen Hapon to open the door for you to hide as the four mile were chasing you. Kopen did not ohe dor you you so you kicked down the kitchen door and insd inside the kitchen slept John Hapon and the victim Jefinia Victor. insie house some disagreemgreement arose between you and John Hapon and you fought. 160; You tried t John Hapo Hapon with your-knife but he held on to the knife and you both struggled. In the ste John John John got cut on his hand and he released nife.

The child Jefinia Victor was sitting on the behe bed. You thrned to the child anld and cut him once on the head anfell e ground and you you chopped him again the second time whie while he was on the ground. You then tuonto John HaponHapon again e had escaped through a hola hole and alerted the neighbours. The viwas the child of Vicf Victor Kopen Hapon.

When you wnterviewed by the Police about a month after the incident yent you admitted cutting the victim with your bush-knife two times. ere ato give some reas reas reason for the killing and you said you had no reason. You were asked toain your your reason for goo Konkua Community School and particularly to Victor Kopen Hapon’s premises and you syou said ‘Longlong kisim mi nao long haus bilong em.’ You then went oent on to ixplain that you were with some boys that afternoon planning to go to a dance later in the evening. At that time some marijuana was smoked with the boys. You the smoke made yolongllonglong and you ran into tnto the coffee garden. You were no longer inted ited in the dance but you wanted to go home. Hr youd up at thonHaponon’s place thinking it was your hour house. At ouse you wanted to slee sleep but John Hapon talked toh andyed you and you fyou fought with him and in the process you cut the victim. In your aour allocatus yid said you drank home-brewyou came to the Hapon residresidence where you normally sleep but the bed was occupied by John Hapon and the child. You were to sleethe floor.loor. I do not accept story.&#16.&#160 I prefer the you gave to e to the police which was given when the ent was quite fresh in you mind. It is noost 7 months sincesince you first gave your your story to the police where you have had a l opportunity to improve youe your story.

Crime of murder carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. There are three mosmon homn homicide cases: Wilfuler, Murder and ManslManslaughter. You have pleaded guilty to the second category of hde which involves some deliberate intent to cause harm or bodily injury. is a wo a worst case of muof murder for many reasons but thn one being that the victim was an innocent child who did ndid not know what was going on or what had gotten into you. Here we a 3 yld child dist disturbeturbed from his sleep by an intruder into their home at an ungodly hour and swinging a bush-knife like a m fighting with his brother John Hapon. He is perplexed about thruintrusion and the sthe struggle and before he realises what is going to happen next he is chopped on the head and the blow throws him onto the ground and then he is chopped again on the heade he is on the floor. #160; Thests are weighty&#1ty enough to hou tried for wior wilful murder except that you pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of murder. But does not take away they the severity of the wrongs you did.

This Court and the SupCourt have on countless occs occasions repeatedly stated that those who commit murder on innocent persons deserve no leniency and must expect the severe sentence. are no extenuating circumircumstances in this case. You had noon to be i be in place in the fprst place.&ace. You were an inr and you weou were intoxicated by drugs. Your mind was affectedrugsdrugs. that lf-induced intoion&#16n and you don’t217t anet any concession for your intoxicaoxicated state and that your mind had been impasomew#160; Intoxication is no defence in law andw and self-induced intoxication is not a mt a mitigating factor.

Your personal background is very shaky and unstable. You are from Mondo village, Mendi in the Southern Highlands Province and although you said you were married, you have moved about like a drifter. Before sng in Kainantu youu you were in Mt. Hagen and employed as amaker. You then follofollowed some people you knew to Kainantu wher did odd jobs of mendimending people’s shoes on treet.

Your lawyer hyer has urged upon me to consider your plea of guilty, young man aged 20 years and you are a first offender.&#1ut I don’t thin think tha these factofactors should have any impact at all in a serious case such as this one. I must emze that this poor poor child was an innocent victim. He had no el with you.&#16. You had no renship whatsoeatsoever these people. These were some people you came to know and whom you regarded as friendriends and occasionally paid them courtesyts.&#But on this partiparticular night you were affected by drug drugs - marijuana; you were hallucinated by the smoke into believing that you were pursued by people who meant you harm and you escaped into the Hapons kitchen whereby you attacked John Hapon and the victim as if you were fighting your enemies. Whatever your actioere is e is no question about what you had in mind and you executed it with deliberate intent and precision. Consequently you aly endedended a young life and you brought untold and unfor miseries on a family who mwho may have been good to you in previous occasions.

The sentence that this Court imposes must serv only as a punishment to yoto you but also as a general warning to all persons who think they can take innocent lives and expect leniency irrespective of their state of mind at the time they commit crimes of violence like this one. Human life is previous our Court has a duty to severely deal with those who terminate innocent lives as if they are slaughtering animals. The parof thild are entitlntitled to feel relieved to some extent that the law has heard their cryr cry and justice has been done to them.The sentence of this Court is that you are to be imprisoned for life.

Lawyer for thor the State: Public Prosecutor

Lawyer for the Prisoner: Public Solicitor