Mother pleads guilty to homebrew possession

By JACINTA COHLEE
A 40-YEAR-OLD mother who pleaded guilty to possession of homebrewed alcohol was fined K1,000 by the Lae District Court on Wednesday.
The court imposed the fine on Serah Robert, from Mugili village in Kagua-Erave, Southern Highlands, and warned her that failure to pay would result in a six-month prison term.
Sarah was charged with possession of an illicit spirit which she admitted to but pled not guilty to the charge of supplying home-brewing equipment.
The court based its decision on court exhibits presented by police prosecutor Maureen Pohei.
Magistrate Pious Tapil told Sarah that her actions were unbecoming of her position as a mother.
“You never acted as a responsible mother to report your children to the police for selling homebrews, but instead, you are helping them to sell homebrew,” he said.
The court granted Sarah K300 bail on the second charge and adjourned to July 1 the next mention.
Sarah was caught by police on Tuesday with four plastic containers of steam at Bumbu Compound in Lae, Morobe.
She had acted suspiciously when police drove by and officers stopped her and checked her bilum and discovered the illegal items.
The court noted that Sarah had told police that the steam had been produced at her house and had shown police the equipment used to make the drinks.