Father of two gets 18 months for marijuana

A FATHER of two was yesterday jailed 18 months after being found guilty of possessing marijuana by the Lae District Court.
Magistrate Isaac Tjipet, when sentencing Manuel Kuaumo, 29, from Marawaka in Obura-Wonenara, Eastern Highlands, said the sentence could have been longer but an early guilty plea had been taken into account.
A police brief before the court stated that Kuaumo was trying to transport 1.2kg of marijuana from Lae to Kimbe in West New Britain by ship when he was arrested on Aug 10 at the Lae main wharf.
Police say the drug had been brought from his village to Lae via Menyamya by Kuaumo.
Kuaumo said in his defence that he was a first-time offender and was attempting to make money to pay for his brother’s school fees; he also asked for leniency and to be fined by the court because he had a family to support.
Magistrate Tjipet noted that drug abuse was prevalent in communities and the amount Kuaumo was trying to take to Kimbe was significant.
He said the sentence needed to be harsh enough to be a deterrent to others who were trying to sell marijuana to make money.