Cheah’s case dismissed

AN 18-year-old man’s 27-month ordeal of facing a rape charge ended on Wednesday when the Waigani committal court freed him on grounds of insufficient evidence.
Magistrate Paul Nii ruled that there was insufficient evidence to link Adam Chin Cheah to the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl, thus he could not be committed to stand trial in the National Court.
He then dismissed the charge and ordered the refund of his K1,000 bail that was posted on May 28, 2020.
“I have considered the statements of witnesses Kathleen Johnson (alleged victim’s mother), Elizabeth Ipi (alleged victim’s aunty), Keeh Kendakali (legal representative) and Jeffery Kennedy (witness) and found that their evidence were based on the evidence of the victim who claimed that she was raped.
“They only gave evidence to support the victim’s assertion of rape. The currency of each witness statements are energised by the victim statement. However, the deficiency of the victim’s statement rendered the entire evidence insufficient.
“In consideration of evidence in a case involving rape and other crimes where the victim is surviving, the victim’s statement should form the foremost ingredients of a police case. The rise and fall of a police case is determined by the strength of the victim’s statement.
“It is the main foundation in which police build their case upon. The victim’s statement is like the stem while witness statements are like branches and leaves.
“If the stem is cut down, the branches and leaves will also fall because their strength and survival is through the stem.
“In the same manner, if the victim’s statement is inadmissible, then the rest of the witness statements will fall, and thus will have no strength to succeed in the allegation.
“On July 22, through an enquiry, found that the (alleged) victim’s statement was obtained without her presence. The court also noted that the maker of the statement was in Australia and did not understand and read her own statement but was signed off by the arresting officer Roman Anton by inserting the victim’s initials.
“The court, after the enquiry, ruled that the victim’s statement was disclosed to the court without complying with the mandatory requirements under section 94 (1A) of the District Court Act and thus, the (alleged) victim’s statement was rejected in the ruling.”
He said in the absence of a (alleged) victim’s statement, police evidence was deficient and the case could not proceed.
“I have gone through the police file that was tendered on Sept 9, 2020, and discovered that in the absence of (the alleged) victim’s statement, the remainder of the police evidence failed to make a case against Cheah,” he added.
Cheah was alleged to have raped the girl in a hotel in Port Moresby on June 22, 2019.
The girl was 15 at the time of the alleged offence.