Corporal punishment to return

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Thursday July 25th, 2013

 By JEFFREY ELAPA

JUSTICE Minister and Attorney-General Kerenga Kua said the Government would introduce corporal punishment as a deterrent to the increased law and order problems in the country.

Kua, speaking in Parliament in reply to a series of questions from Manus MP Ronnie Knight, said the Government would reintroduce corporal punishment and increase penalties for criminal and summary offences as a result of the declining moral conscience among the young people.

“I must inform this house that definitely we will reintroduce corporal punishment and I want this house to support the Bill,” he said.

Corporal punishment was first introduced in the country during the colonial days but was abolished as it was a inhuman form of punishment. 

Kua said the Justice Department, in consultation with the Constitutional Law Reform Commission, was reviewing all the existing laws in an effort to increase the penalties.

Knight, in a series of questions, asked if the Government would amend laws to increase penalties for offenders who abused drugs and alcohol as they were causing a lot of social problems in his province as well as in the country.

Kua said all penalties under the Summary and Criminal Code would be amended through a complete legislation review in an effort to deter this trend. He said many laws were introduced during the colonial days and were not appropriate today.

Madang Governor Jim Kas supported the idea that corporal punishment be reintroduced because discipline among young children has dropped.

He suggested during grievance debate that the way forward for instilling discipline is to encourage the Boys Scout and Girl Guide movements and reintroduce corporal punishment in schools.

Kas said these changes could prove to be a deterrence to the increasing disciplinary problems among young people and the increase in social problems in the country.