Judge: Murder cases increasing

By ABIGAIL APINA
THERE are too many attempted murder cases in the country, a judge in Kokopo says.
Sentencing a man to 10 years in jail last Friday, acting Judge David Maliku said the crime of attempted murder from unprovoked circumstances, minor provocation and uncontrollable provocations had become prevalent and were on the rise.
“They (attempted murder cases) call for harsher penalty,” he said.
Raphael Tabataba, married with five children, and a first time offender from Kabaira village in East New Britain was found guilty weeks ago for attempting to kill another man from the same village.
The court heard that on the evening of April 3, the accused and other men went to the victim and accused him of assaulting a relative.
But while the victim was trying to drive the intruders away from his house, the accused grabbed a “pig hunting spear” from near a mango tree and threw it at the victim.
The court heard that the spear pierced the victim’s abdomen and emerged on the other side.
The victim was rushed to Kerevat Hospital where he received emergency medical treatment followed by surgery at the Nonga General Hospital.
Maliku said such provocation was controllable and other avenues could have been embarked on such as having the matter settled by the village leader or by the village court.