Judge: Like dogs on heat

 By ABIGAIL APINA 

A 25-YEAR-old father in West New Britain has been sentenced to a total of 25 years in jail for abducting and raping a girl in 2006.

Sotna Sam Bongi, married with a three-year-old son, pleaded guilty to abduction and aggravated rape.

The court heard that Bongi was 17  and the victim 15 at the time of rape.

On July 29, 2006 Bongi and other men at the Numondo plantation  were armed with bush knives and saw the victim with her mother and brother.

They approached them, threatened the mother with bush knives and abducted the victim.

The men took her into the bushes, stripped her and took turns at raping her.

The mother reported the incident to her relatives, who found the victim with Bongi and his gang.

They attacked the gang and left Bongi with cuts on various parts of his body.

The court heard that Bongi was crippled as the result of the attack.

On Aug 7, 2009 he was charged with abduction and rape.

He escaped custody in March 2011 and was recaptured on Jan 3, this year.

Bongi appeared before the court in March  and pleaded guilty to escaping from custody and was sentenced to five years imprisonment which he is currently serves.

Judge Panuel Mogish, when sentencing the accused, described the behaviour by the accused and his gang “like a pack of wild dogs on heat”.

“Law-abiding citizens are fed up of being subjected to whims of criminal elements in the society,” Mogish said.

“Criminals must take heed that if they are caught in the act of committing a crime, they should not expect any sympathy from the public. 

“Neither should they think they will be treated with leniency by the court. 

“If they are unhappy with the treatment inflicted on them by the public, then they have the option of instituting proceedings for breach of human rights against those involved.” 

The 25-year jail sentence will start at the end of Bongi’s five-year escape sentence.