THE rich may buy their way out of criminal liability if compensation was allowed to determine sentences, the Supreme Court said when rejecting an appeal by two men convicted manslaughter.
Justice Panuel Mogish said that just because John Ben Loi and Stancy Ben Beha had paid a compensation of K7,700 to the relatives of the victim, it did mean that their sentence should be reduced.
“I should state categorically that compensation, however large or small cannot exonerate the offender from criminal liability.
“Nor do I think that sentence should be reduced relative to the size of the compensation, such that it can be thought that the larger the compensation, the greater the reduction in sentence.
“This cannot be the effect of compensation, if it is a genuine method of restoring peace and harmony by custom or tradition and whatever form it takes, it should not be extended to obtain total exculpation of the offender,” he said.
“The natural flow on effect of such a belief is obvious and would lead to the rich believing that they can buy their way out of criminal responsibility, and the less rich feeling aggrieved if they do not receive the same treatment,” he added.
On Sept 14 last year, the National Court found Ben Loi and Beha guilty of killing a man at 4-Mile market in Lae in August, 2004 and were sentenced 16-year jail.
The Court, however, agreed that there was no evidence that the attack was planned and that there was provocation.
It ordered that the duo served 13 years in prison instead of 16.