23yrs for kidnapping, sex abuse

By ZACHERY PER
A 35-year-old man was jailed for 23 years with hard labour by the Goroka National Court last week after he was found guilty of kidnapping a child and persistently abusing her sexually.
Justice Joe Yagi while sentencing Ben Nano Bahai, of Wande village in Goroka, Eastern Highlands, said he found the offences so aggravating that the offender warranted a more severe penalty.
“The facts revealed that you had no intention to return the girl if she had not taken the bravery to break out of bondage. She will carry the mental scar for the rest of her life,” the judge told the prisoner.
“For over five years under your control, doing child labour and you sexually abused her, you showed no reward or compensation.”
Bahai demonstrated stubbornness and arrogance in court, showing little or no respect during the trial.
The court found that on Jan 2, 2009, Bahai lured the six-and-a-half-year-old girl (name withheld) with sweets from Kamkumung market, lying that he was her mother’s brother and took her to Highlands bus-stop at Eriku in Lae.
She was playing with other children as her mother was selling food at the family table-market at Kamkumung.
Bahai took her in a PMV bus bound for Goroka. The girl was then taken to Wande village in Goroka. She was held in captivity and was forced to do child labour, performing household chores, including nursing babies for more than six years.
The court also heard that Bahai sexually penetrated the little girl on three separate occasions while she was held in captivity. The girl made a daring escape on October 11, 2015 from Wande village to the Goroka Market Lae bus stop and got on a PMV bus bound for Lae.
She arrived in Lae and managed to find her family at Kamkumung.
Her father Peter Wini could not believe that she eventually came home.
Wini had chased her mother away, blamed her for the girl’s disappearance.
The mother returned to her home in Ialibu, Southern Highlands.
Wini had reportedly spent over K20,000 putting up rewards for anyone who could find the girl and he searched for her in Madang, Wewak, Maprik and the Highlands.
The father laid an official complaint at the Lae Police Station and with support of non-governmental organisations, Family PNG Lae, Family Support Centre, Kafe Women’s Association, Oxfam International and Lae police the case was transferred to Goroka.
Sergeant Mary Nuke, from the Goroka Sexual Violence Squad, took up the matter, investigated to Lae and Mt Hagen with the help of Sergeant Richard Nandi and First Constable Paul Giglmai.
Bahai was busy buying coffee for Nowek Coffee in Goroka when he was arrested and charged by police for alleged kidnapping and persistent sexual abuse of a child.
The court gave him seven years for kidnapping a child and 17 years for persistent sexual abuse of a child while holding her in captivity.
Prosecution lawyer Keith Umpake describes the sentence as fair and said justice was done for a little girl taken away from her parents.
“It was through divine intervention she got back and the court sentence was justice,” Umpake said.