Four jailed for possession of marijuana

 MARIJUANA had contributed much to the rise in law and order problems in Lae city, according to a magistrate.

Lae District Court Magistrate Nasaling Bingtau made the comment while sentencing four men to a total of four years and three months in prison for being in possession of marijuana.

The four were Moiyave Tete, Michael Teine, Willie Vuvul and Wanda Mondo of the Banana Block in Lae.

Police alleged that around 7pm last Thursday, the four were sitting in a circle at the Banana Block when police on patrol confronted them.

Police found a pack of dried marijuana near where they were sitting.

Teine, Vuvul and Mondo said they had nothing to do with it and said it belonged to Tete. Tete denied this.

“It belonged to someone else. The guy threw it beside me when he saw police approaching and ran away,” Tete told the magistrate. 

Bingtau refused to believe the four men and sentenced Teine, Vuvul and Mondo to nine months each in prison and sentenced Tete to two years in prison.

In another matter, a 26-year-old man who was in possession of pornographic materials was fined K1,000 by the same court yesterday.

The man from Kubalia, East Sepik, was caught by police near the Telikom College at Tent City.

“Married men must not carry pornographic materials around,” Bingtau told the man.

“Pornography is the reason why many adultery cases are happening in the country.”

The man is married with a child. 

Bingtau told him he would be sent to jail for six months if he failed to pay the fine.