Five front court over rape of 5-year-old

 FOUR men and a woman charged with depriving liberty and rape of a five-year-old last year appeared at the Waigani committal court yesterday.

They were Nelson Mara, 27, from Gioi village, Wilson Poke, 27, from Wapialia village and Wass Torink, 21, from Waipe village all in Tambul, Western Highlands, and Kemis Kewa from Wakun village in Yalibu, Southern Highlands and Jackleen Inok, 27, from Nanoi in Enga. 

Poke (bus driver), Mara (crew), Torink, Kewa and Inok (Poke’s wife) were charged with deprivation of liberty and sexual penetration of a child.

Mara and Poke were also charged with abduction.

Magistrate Cosmas Bidar told the court that it was a situation where a child had gone missing and later found by a bus driver.

Bidar said the driver may have had a good intention to care for the child because of the negligence by her parents or guardians but accusations arose.

Kewa was represented by a lawyer from the office of public solicitor while the others were represented by lawyer Moses Philip.

Philip made a no-case submission, saying evidence was not obtained correctly from the five-year-old.

Bidar will make his ruling on July 11.

Poke, Mara, Torink and Kewa had picked up the victim at Gerehu Stage 5 on Oct 23 last year.

Mara offered K12 in coins to the child, picked her up and carried her off in the bus while doing their respective passenger run that day.

The victim was held in the bus and was later taken to Stage 6 where Poke and Mara lived.  

That night Mara raped the girl and told Inok in the morning that if the victim died they would dump her body at the Baruni Dump because she was bleeding heavily.

The victim overheard the conversation and managed to escape. 

She informed her family and the matter was reported to the police.