Court blasts lawyer for wasting time

By Alice Osii
A defence lawyer was told off in court last week by a magistrate who called him a time waster and rejected his request to be granted another adjournment to prepare his case.
“You are wasting court papers, time for typing, retyping, preparing etc,” magistrate Mekeo Gauli told Kevin Makeu, of Niuage Lawyers, who was representing Stanley Yapani and Bill Abone, both charged with wounding.
“Now that the court is ready for ruling, the lawyer requests an adjournment to prepare submissions.”
Makeu asked the court for a week’s adjournment to allow him to prepare the case files.
The prosecution opposed the request, saying three months had been enough time for Yapani and Ambone to engage a lawyer to represent them. “The court will grant the objection by the prosecution and proceed with the ruling,” Gauli said.
In court, Yapani and Ambone, of Port Moresby, will appear for trial in the National Court on Monday.
They were charged with one count of wounding, with police saying they hurt a man on Dec 29 last year at Kabaleo Street at Morata in Port Moresby.