Man’s guilty plea changed

By JIMMY KALEBE
LAE District Court Magistrate James Morog entered a not guilty plea for a 31-year-old father of six despite him pleading guilty to assaulting his wife.
Morog changed the plea after defendant Junior Goi Mume made a verbal submission and told the court that he was provoked, how his wife didn’t take good care of the children, had allegedly sold one of the children for money and often assaulted him with a knife.
Mume, from Wangoi village in Chuave, Chimbu, said he was charged after there was provocation by his wife which led to what had happened.
After hearing Mume’s verbal submission, Magistrate Morog raised some aspects of the provocation.
Mume told the court that his wife allegedly deserted their six children and him by not taking good care of them, was involved in outside social activities most times, used a knife to wound him and allegedly sold one of their kids for money.
“I have been so good to my wife all these times and have tried my best to take her back.
“I have never started an argument with her.
“She was the one that used to threaten my life,” Mume said.
He told the court that as a result of her rude approaches to him, he had scars of knife wounds all over his body.
“The actions that she has done to me provoked me to assault her.
“She was the one trying to cut me with a kitchen knife when I did what I had done to her,” Mume said.
Magistrate Morog after entering a not guilty plea ordered that the case go to trial on Nov 17 and that statements should be sought from witnesses on both sides.
Mume was granted a K200 bail.