State v Boromake [2006] PGNC 142; N3159 (18 August 2006)

N3159

PAPUA NEW GUINEA
[IN THE NATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE]

CR 906 OF 2006

THE STATE

v

ODEI BOROMAKE

Lae: Kirriwom J
2006: 18 August

SENTENCE – Armed Robbery – Group of Boys – Youthful Offenders – Prisoner a Juvenile – Plea of Guilty – age 15 years – Sentence to three (3) years – Ordered to serve sentence at Erap Boys Town – Warrant of Commitment to Erap Boys Town – s.386 of Criminal Code Act

Cases Cited:

The State v Luke Mera & David Marcus [2006] Unreported national Court Judgment

Counsel:

Mr. Wala, for the State
Mr. Norum, for the Defendant

SENTENCE

18 August, 2006

1. KIRRIWOM, J: The Prisoner Odel Boromake of Osai Village, Wasu, Morobe Province was charged with one count of armed robbery. On 9 December, 2005 at Wau the prisoner and four other young boys were armed with two homemade shot guns and a bush knife and stole from another person, one Gideon Sauiet, by threatening him and using actual violence on him and another with him, K1,500 in cash, property taken from his person.

2. The prisoner is the only charged with his offence. He pleaded guilty. He said he received K200 from this money. But when the victim and the relatives confronted him soon after the incident, he admitted and handed over the K200.00 to them. The others escaped with the rest of the money.

3. The prisoner is a juvenile aged 15 years old. He was committed to stand trial in the National Court by the Juvenile Court here in Lae on 28 June 2006 with direction to be taken before the National Court on 18 August 2006 from the Juvenile Court Magistrate upon finding sufficient evidence to commit him.

4. On allocations the prisoner apologised for what he did with the others against the victim and asked to be given an opportunity to get an education and also to compensate the victim. As a result his lawyer requested for Pre-Sentence Report as well as Means Assessment Report. Both these reports are available and I have read them.

5. This is another case where I do not have the benefit of Counsel’s address in mitigation. Maybe the practice by counsel of seeking court orders for these reports prior to address on sentence must be properly studied and perhaps refined. I would prefer counsel to make address on sentence in mitigation and then ask for the appropriate reports to be ordered by the Court for the Court’s own assistance by way of verification of what counsel already knows from instructions from his client.

6. If counsel wants the reports prior to making any submissions, then such report must be sought directly from CBC without involvement of the Court and counsel can produce the report when the case actually comes before the Court. If there is no legislative mandate given to the lawyer to make such direct request, then the law needs to be relooked at. However, my reading of the Act does empower the lawyer to make much request of the CBC under the Probation Act.

7. In this case, I do not intend to hear counsel on address in mitigation on sentence and then reserve to consider the sentence. I have read the PSR and the MAR and I have decided on what I am going to do with this juvenile. I am definitely not going to send him to Buimo Prison.

8. I am satisfied on the reports before me, unless the State takes issue with the reports that compensation is out of question as the prisoner’s mother cannot afford it. Going back to school at Wau is also out of question because he left school a while back and his attendance record has been quite poor according to Class Teacher Ms Grace Piru who was Class Patron of Grade 5 in 2003 when the prisoner was in that Grade and left school altogether because of school fee problem. Corporal Raymond Cornelius, Prison Officer of the Juvenile Section, Buimo Prison, reports quite highly of the prisoner as a well behaved person. And furthermore, Mathias, Superintendent of Erap Boys Town says he has space in Erap and is willing to take him on if the court sends him to Erap where he can continue his schooling. The only other place that I would have required some information from is the City Mission Farm outside the city at 10/11 Mile if they were willing to take him on.

9. In any event, I must commend Mrs Tukavai for this report. When I was having serious negative view of CBC and its productive output here as far as it concerned out-sourcing alternatives to imprisonment of young people coming before the Court, this report has now proven otherwise of the office. This is a very constructive report, properly investigated and appropriate findings are reported.

10. I note that the prisoner is fearful of returning to his own community on a probation sentence because he believes the older boys in the community where he lives will influence him to re-offend. As I recently said in The State v Luke Mera and David Marcus [2006] Unreported National Court Judgment, CR 1011 OF 2005 and CR 1733 OF 2005 (17 August 2006) that in some places in the city, and I was referring to East and West Taraka, notoriously reputed as crimes infested parts of Lae, young people growing up in those places will find it quite difficult to keep out of trouble without being bullied by their more aggressive peers if they don’t follow the life like everyone else in their peer group. And the same can be said of places outside the city such as in Wau where the prisoner and his family lived in Yawa Compound on the outskirts of Wau township, a nuclear community created as a result of influence of people from other parts flooding into Wau seeking for fortune from alluvial gold mining.

11. He is a young offender, without prior convictions, pleaded guilty, expressed remorse, desirous of good education, knows and fears that returning to his mother and family members is not going to keep him out of trouble and he just simply wants help.

12. The offence for which he pleaded guilty to is a street robbery although it took place in a bush track. The prisoner and his friends knew that the victim had gone to sell his gold so they planned and set-up an ambush to steal his money after he sold the gold. He returned what he got on his share.

13. In all the circumstances of the case, I sentence the prisoner to three years at Erap Boys Town where he has an opportunity to attend classes and further his education.

_____________________________________________

Public Prosecutor: Lawyer for the State
Public Solicitor: Lawyer for the Prisoner