Court lets off woman in cult case

By DOROTHY MARK
A WOMAN who allegedly offered a 15-year-old girl to the “Black Jesus” movement in Madang has been freed by the court for lack of evidence.
Henry Suamani, the police officer in charge of prosecution in Madang said the matter was because the arresting police officer failed to complete the prosecution file for the court.
Rose Wagum and her brother Jeffery Wagum, the girl’s father, were charged last August.
“Both Rose and Jeffrey had spent four months in custody but the matter was struck out because the arresting officer was unable to complete the case report,” Suamani said.
The case made headlines when the girl’s mother reported her missing from home.
It was later discovered that she had been taken to a cult group led Steven Tari, known locally as Black Jesus, at Gal village during the term two school holidays.
She was offered as a sacrifice for the “purification” of her aunt (Rose), according to Tari’s cult belief.
When she was found dead later, her dad hurriedly buried her.
But police and hospital authorities later exhumed her body and concluded that she had been killed.
Dr Juith Gawi from Modilon Hospital led the investigations.
But the police officer who arrested the two failed to complete the report for the prosecution which resulted in the dismissal of the case.