Rape suspect walks free
AN elderly Kabwum man, charged with the sexual penetration of an
underage girl, walked away a free man yesterday from the National Court
in Lae after the victim could not give her exact date of birth and the
dates of the alleged crime committed against her.
Justice Nicholas Kirriwom acquitted Joshua Niminiong, from Yawan
village, Kabwum, Morobe province, who was charged under section 229A(1)
of the Criminal Code.
Court documents stated that Niminiong had sexual intercourse with the
girl between July 3 and July 5, 2005, at Yawan village.
But when giving her own evidence, the victim told the court that
Niminiong had sex with her on three consecutive nights in the village
but could not give the exact dates upon cross-examination.
She told the court that she went as far as Grade 2 and could not
remember what year she last went to school.
Evidence before the court showed that her father also did not know her
age and, because of the remoteness of the village, there were no birth
records.
The victim’s mother had also passed away.
Students urged to save
STUDENTS at the Bugandi Secondary School are being encouraged to adopt a
culture of savings where they can save money to assist parents to pay
for their school fees.
They are also being encouraged to be responsible and hardworking
citizens by carrying out cleaning contracts in and around the city.
Principal Banda Galaniah revealed this to The National during a recent
visit to the school.
To enable this, an arrangement has been made between the Lae City
Authority, the Wau Micro Bank in Lae and Bugandi Secondary.
Under this arrangement students would cut, clean drains and plant
flowers around Lae on weekends.
Payment for the work will be paid into personnel accounts with the Micro
Bank.
During a visit to the school recently, bank officers encouraged students
on the benefits of having a savings account as the general cost of
living was high in Papua New Guinea.
The cost of education in secondary and primary schools had also risen
and many parents, in particular those with two or more children, faced
difficulty.
The programme was expected to start this term with grass cutting at the
old Lae airport.
Mr Galaniah expressed confidence in the students to make the program a
success, saying they had done away with their old ways and were more
disciplined.
He thanked teachers, students and parents in their continued support to
change the school’s image.
Other positive developments at the school include the building of a
double storey classroom by Digicel, two school-funded teachers kit
houses and periodic clean up by nearby settlers.
The school fields are also used by Lae-based Mabey & Johnson Muruks
rugby team who recently used excavators to tidy up the field.
Chinese gets K2,000 fine
By PETER MIVA and DOREEN POLOH
WAIM
THE Lae District Court yesterday fined a Chinese national K2, 000 for
over-staying his visa by four years or face two months imprisonment with
hard labour for failure to pay the amount.
Lin Jin Hui Jerry, 29, from Fuji province, Peoples Republic of China was
charged under Section 16 (1) (a) of the Migration Act and pleaded
guilty. He appeared before Senior Magistrate Posain Poloh.
The court heard that Lin was arrested on April 1, at a Hi-Lo gaming
venue where he worked in Lae city by police who were attempting to
confiscate gaming machines.
During the search, police discovered that his visa had expired since
June 2004.
When cross checked in court, it was found that Lin’s passport was valid.
The court also heard that Lin was married to a Morobe woman and has two
children. The wife is currently pregnant.
He had been living in the country for 11 years and was seeking permanent
residency. Lin expressed remorse and told the court he had realised that
what he had done was wrong. |
