Judge: Review guide

 A JUDGE has called for a review of the guide used in the sentencing of public officials convicted of misappropriating public funds.
Before sentencing former Cabinet Minister and Pomio MP Paul Tiensten to nine years in jail for misappropriating K10 million of public funds, Deputy Chief Justice
Gibbs Salika said the courts had been saying that the misappropriation of public funds by public
officials in positions of trust was a “serious crime”.
“However, the statutory maximum of 10 years does not appear to support the court’s pronouncements,” he said.
“The maximum penalty is 10 years and the National Court is already imposing terms ranging from four to eight years for misappropriation of public and private funds for thefts of much lesser amounts.
“This in my respectful opinion has happened because of the tariff or guide suggested by the court (in Belawa v the State) in this area of law.”
The guide suggests that the misuse of between K1 to K1,000 should not warrant a jail term, between K1,000 to K10,000 a jail term of two years is appropriate, K10,000 and K40,000 (two to three years imprisonment) and K40,000 to K150,000 three to five years imprisonment.
“It is this type of formula or guide that snuffs out any room for manoeuvring (when considering much larger sums),” he said.
Salika said it might not be a good idea to have a sentencing formula nor was it a good idea to discuss what the starting point should be, but what the range of sentences should be, sentencing patterns and trends using case precedents.
“Mitigating factors and aggravating factors come into the mix at some point when considering the appropriate sentence,” he said.