Jailed for attacking teacher

A 34-YEAR-OLD man who pleaded guilty to attacking a female teacher was jailed a year by the Lae District Court.
Magistrate Issac Tjipet sentenced Wama Mokeng, from Nawaeb’s Kaisia, for threatening behaviour by swinging a bush knife at Ovin Kolias .
Mokeng, single and had no prior conviction, appeared from custody last week because he was denied bail on safety grounds.
The incident took place on June 17 at about 4.30pm when Kolias was doing dishes in a nearby creek.
She spotted him and asked whether he would like to fetch water for drinking or bathe so that she could excuse herself, but he walked past her.
After walking a distance, he turned around and threatened her with the knife and tried to grab her and they wrestled.
She overpowered Mokeng and called for help to the nearby community when he took a knife and swung it, almost injuring her.
While calling out for help, Kolias tricked Mokeng that people were approaching and he dropped his knife and fled into the bushes.
She took the knife to the community and reported what had happened and a search was conducted and Moken was captured and handed to the police.
In another case before the same court, Magistrate Tjipet fined primary school teacher Ringkec Miaka, 25, K1,500 in default a year’s jail on a firearm charge .
Miaka, from Morobe’s Finshhafen, appeared before Magistrate Tjipet last week after he pleaded guilty to having in his possession a homemade pistol.
He was on K500 bail which was converted into a court fine and he will have to pay the remaining of K1,000.
Miaka in June was in a department store in Lae Top town at 5th Street when he was caught by a security guard at the exit door with 1 litre coke bottle which the security guards claimed he tried to steal.
He was taken in for security check and the guards found the homemade pistol in a bag tucked under his armpit.
He was then handed over to police. The pistol had no ammunition.