Out of court settlement denied

By PERO SIMINJI
A MAGISTRATE refused to withdraw a case of a man charged with sexual touching after he asked to settle the matter out of the court.
Richard Sanaka, from Central, appeared before Waigani Committal Court Magistrate, Cosmas Bidar and said he would talk to the complainant’s family and settle the matter outside court.
“I would like to talk to the complainant and her family to come to an agreement and settle the matter back at the settlement I’m living in,” Sanaka told the court.
“I’m asking if this court could grant my request to withdraw my case and let me settle my case outside court.”
Police prosecutor Constable Joseph Sangam disagreed with Sanaka’s request.
Sangam said the matter was already in court and in its final stage.
He said the case should not be withdrawn and it should continue to its finality.
Bidar told Sanaka that only a complainant had the right to ask the court to withdraw a case.
“The complainant will decide whether to withdraw the case or not and not you because you are the accused identified in the alleged incident surrounding the facts,” Bidar said.
Bidar told Sanaka: “You had enough time to talk to the complainant and her family about his case because the alleged incident happened in August last year and now we are into the third month of this year.
Bidar dismissed Sanaka’s request and ordered the continuation of the matter until it reach its finality.
He made a final adjournment to March 28, and extended Sanaka’s K500 bail.
It was alleged sanaka without the consent of the complainant touched her sexually on a number of occasions in August last year.
The matter was reported to the police and Sanaka was apprehended, arrested and later charged.