Court releases convicted man
A MAN who was convicted for manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in jail by the Vanimo National Court will now be released after the Waigani Supreme Court found that the trial judge erred in both law and facts to prove the guilt of the conviction beyond all reasonable doubt.
The applicant, Cain Namah, was convicted of manslaughter by the Vanimo National Court on June 9, 2015.
He is a younger brother of Opposition Leader Belden Namah.
Namah appealed and the decision was delivered yesterday by Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika.
The court upheld the appeal in part that the conviction of manslaughter was substituted under S.539 (4) of the Criminal Code for grievous bodily harm. A sentence of five years and one month
was imposed by the court, however, as Namah had already
served time in prison he was discharged.
The facts of the case showed that on Sept 22, 2012, the deceased, accompanied by others, approached Namah’s house at Waramon Oil when one of the deceased’s friend asked for Namah’s wife.
This was when Namah pulled out his licensed firearm and shot the decease in the right thigh.
The deceased was rushed to the Vanimo General Hospital and he died two days later after he suffered an epileptic fit while undergoing treatment.
The State alleged that the death was caused by injuries that he suffered from the gunshot wound as well as the epileptic fit.
Justice Sir Gibbs said that there was no evidence to support that finding.
“In our view this is the fundamental issue that sets the appeal one way or the other,” he said.
“The medical evidence did not support, nor did it maintain the weight to sustain a conviction.”
5 comments
Another totally bias ruling in favour of businessman and opposition leader of PNG Mr.Belden Namah’s younger brother.It really shows how money speaks louder in a PNG society where we poor people feels the pain and consequences of what we did while wealthy people just relax and their money makes everything works in their favour.
A can be speculated that money speaks loader than law of justice
If the judge is biased in his ruling, God will judge him.
This is BS, why overturn a guilty verdict based on no evidence beyond reasonable doubt. What about the gun shot wound the victim sustain and the life lost as a result. I bet if he wasn’t shot at he would still be alive today, doubt the epileptic fit will kill him. By common sense reasoning, whatever the victim did does he pose a treat to warrant such action, to be shot at like an animal. And Its that enough evidence already to proof the guilty verdict since he used the gun with intent which has resulted in death. For a Jude of our high courts start over turning such verdicts for selective people than that’s a RED flag right there and it very sad for our Justice system. For us grassroots, there’s no point going to the courts to seek Justice because the system will fail us big time beyond reasonable doubt.
Court is a court of evidence and application of common sense and logic. Gun shot wound did not corroborate with the cause of death. Deceased died due to epileptic fit which is an isolated cause….that is the law on homicide cases ( police evidence not corroborating with medical evidence ) Was there independent medical findings to confirm this Findings ? Who was the lawyer ? Most convicts are victims of poor legal representation by half backed lawyers who flew out of the windows to become lawyers. Courts are there to maintain and uphold justice and it’s integrity should be respected at all times. Unnecessary inference and assumptions are baseless unless you have hard evidence to draw negative conclusions. Just because someone is a well to do does not mean you can infer negative remarks. And sometimes , someone’s wife should be approached through her husband unless you have other ulterior motives , especially in a private settings like homes.
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