Man gets life sentence for murder

National

By CHRISTOPHER YOWAT
A MAN has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, with the judge saying the punishment befits the circumstances of the crime committed.
National Court judge Justice Panuel Mogish, told Gibbson Maraen that life imprisonment was the suitable punishment for him, considering the circumstances in which he killed a man.
The court heard that on Dec 10, 2015, at Soweto Street in Nine-Mile, Port Moresby, Marean and the man were drinking with some friends when they got into an argument.
Maraen and the man fought and fell into a drain where their friends came and stop the fight.
Maraen went to his home and brought an axe which he use it to hit the man on the head.
Justice Mogish told Maraen that the case was serious and warranted the death penalty.
But he said because Maraen was drunk at the time, his judgment might have been impaired when he committed the crime.
Justice Mogish said life imprisonment was the suitable sentence because he had intended to kill the man.
Maraen will serve his jail term at Bomana in Port Moresby.