Magistrate: Parents’ duty to look after children

By JAMES GUMUNO
PARENTS, divorced or not, have the responsibility to look after their children until they are at least 18 years old, a magistrate told the district court yesterday.
Betty Jacob, a senior district court magistrate in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands, told those in court room that parents had a big duty to play in the upbringing of their children.
Jacob, pictured, said the Lukautim Pikinini Act was established to safeguard the rights of the children and protect them.
She said those looking after other people’s children could take their parents to court if they didn’t support them to look after the children.
She said children could take their parents to court if they felt that they were neglected and not properly looked after.
Jacob was presiding over a case in which a father had failed to pay maintenance fee for his two children with his former wife.
The court ordered Michael Moke to pay Jackylin Michael maintenance fee for his son Junior and daughter Evelyn fortnightly since mid-last year.
Moke didn’t pay the allowances and arrears since Nov 11, 2018, which stood at K4100.
He told the court that he didn’t pay maintenance as ordered by the court because his son lived with him.
He told the court that his daughter lived with her mother.
Moke told the court that Junior lived with him since birth – Nov 17, 2006.
Jackylin told the court that since the court issued the order, Moke made no attempt to pay the fortnightly allowance.
Jacob told the defendant to appeal the decision of the district court to the national court to set aside the orders if he felt that it was unfair.
She said the district court order was still current and he still had to pay.
Their case was adjourned to tomorrow.