Convicted for rape, trafficking

By ZEDAIAH KANAU
THE Bomana National Court has convicted a man for human trafficking and rape in what has been described as the first case of trafficking tried in Papua New Guinea’s higher courts.
Justice Panuel Mogish on Saturday convicted Willie Gare, of Korokoa village, Gumine, Chimbu, on seven counts of trafficking in persons and one count of rape after he took seven girls from Central from Lealea village to Chimbu to perform a dance at the opening of his new lodge, but then sexually exploited them afterwards. In a 25-page judgement, Justice Mogish upheld the State’s case and found Gare guilty on all the counts which he was indicted on.
The offence of trafficking in person was recently created by Parliament through the enactment of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 2003. The Act was certified on April 7, 2014.
The offence takes its origin from Article Three of the United Nations Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, to which PNG is a signatory.
Justice Mogish said: “Since the inception of the amendment, there had been no case until the present case.
“This case is the pioneer case to which the law will be applied.”
Gare is the owner of the Waghi Hideaway lodge in Chimbu.
Gare’s sister was married to a man from Boera (in Central) at the time of the offences.
Gare and his sister arranged for the young women from Lealea and Boera villages to travel to his lodge in Chimbu.
They were to perform at the opening, be paid and return home.
The women were taken to Chimbu on July 29, 2015.
The women were accommodated in Kundiawa until the lodge’s opening on Aug 14, 2015.
Gare then kept the women at his lodge and allegedly forced them to entertain customers and patrons of the lodge which included drinking alcohol and having sex with them.
On Aug 25, 2015, the ill treatment resulted in Gare assaulting three of the girls.
He also raped one of them.
Some of the women escaped to the Kerowagi Police Barracks where one of them had eloped to with a policeman. They contacted their relatives from there.
On Aug 29, 2015, workers from the International Organisation for Migration and policemen from the Mt Hagen-based mobile squad arrived at the Waghi Lodge and removed the remaining girls from there.
State lawyer Solomon Kuku from the Public Prosecutors office objected to bail after conviction but Justice Mogish used his discretion and granted Gare an extension on bail.
He adjourned the case to Dec 4 for submissions for sentencing.