Hoala v Regina [2008] SBHC 78; HCSI-CRC 348 of 2008 (12 December 2008)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOLOMON ISLANDS

Criminal Case No. 348 of 2008

BETWEEN:

CYRIL HOALA
Applicant

AND:

REGINA
Respondent

Date of Hearing: 28 November 2008
Date of Judgment: 12 December 2008

Ms. N. Manning for Applicant
Mr. R. Iomea for Crown

DECISION ON BAIL

Cameron PJ.

1. The applicant is in custody on a charge of murder. He applies for bail. He has no prior convictions.

2. The killing which gives rise to the charge of murder occurred on 11 June 2000, when a group of men confronted the victim Bobby Sae Nare at the KHY Building, Gizo, Western Province. That group is said to have been made up of members of what was known as the Black Sharks, which included Bougainville nationals. It is said that their object during the ethnic tensions was to drive Malaitan settlers from the Western Province. It is alleged that the applicant was a member of the group who confronted the victim that day with the express purpose of killing him. The applicant's ethnicity is part Bougainville and part Shortland Islands, and the victim was a Malaitan.

3. I am advised that the identification will be an issue at trial. However, the Crown case on that point appears to be relatively strong, with a number of witnesses in Police statements alleging that they recognised the applicants as among the group. I refer to statements from Freda Silau, John Memea, Barnabas William and Clarinda Viva. I noted that Clarinda Viva, one of those witnesses as to identification, states that the applicant is her cousin.

4. An unusual feature in this case is that prior to the arrest of the applicant on this charge, five co-accused were arrested and tried for the same murder, and of those five accused only one was convicted, namely the person said to have been the Commander of the Black Sharks, Cornelius Galasa. He was convicted in 2007, whereas the applicant was arrested for the first time on this murder charge on 4 September 2008. Mr. Iomea for the Crown advised me that the applicant had been evading capture until his arrest, but there is no evidence before the Court to support that.

5. The proposal is that the applicant if granted bail will live with his family, including his mother, in the Shortland Islands. The Shortland Islands are of course only a relatively short boat trip from Bougainville, where the Crown says the applicant has relatives. Alternatively, the applicant's uncle is prepared to have him reside with him at Kola Ridge, Honiara.

6. I consider that there is very real possibility of the applicant absconding should he be granted bail. He is facing a charge which if convicted, will carry a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment, and the Crown case against him in relation to identification appears strong. As to his alleged participation in the crime, a witness has stated that the applicant was standing close to or net to the Commander, Cornelius Galasa, at the time of the killing. Thus the Crown's contention that the applicant was part of a joint criminal enterprise to kill the victim also appears relatively strong.

7. I also consider that were the applicant to be released on bail, then there is an appreciable risk that he will attempt to interfere with Crown witnesses, who are apparently living in different locations throughout the Solomon Islands. The applicant will know who they are from disclosure. I am advised that some of the Crown witnesses are Malaitans and it may well be that the enmity said to have been felt by members of the Black Sharks towards the Malaitans still exists to some extend.

8. In my view any residential condition of bail that the applicant live in a specified area of Honiara will not sufficiently reduce the risk of flight, or the risk of interference with witnesses, to the extend that I can be satisfied that I ought to grant bail.

9. The application for bail is declined.

BY THE COURT

Hon. Justice IDR Cameron
Puisne Judge