No bail for woman charged with murder

THE Waigani National Court has declined bail to a woman charged with murder.
Justice George Manuhu yesterday turned down a bail application by an accused, Grace Kala, who was charged with murdering Jenny Jack, by allegedly hitting her on the head with a stone on Aug 3, at Kasu settlement in Gerehu, Port Moresby.
Kala’s application was filed on grounds that the summary facts did not state that the deceased (Jack) did not sustain serious injuries at the time of the event, but only a scratch on the chin.
Justice Manuhu, when refusing Kala’s application, said: “Anyone would ask how she died, and we would depend on a post-mortem, because there is no dispute she is dead.”
Justice Manuhu also held that since there was no post-mortem, bail could not be granted.
“If the cause of death is not related to the assault, then we can say the statement of facts is correct.
“If only the medical report was available, then it will also answer the question on bail,” Justice Manuhu said.
The judge told Kala through her lawyer Bernard Popeu from the Office of the Public Solicitor that there would still be no guarantee that she (Kala) would be given bail because there was no medical report, after Popeu questioned the court which party would be responsible to provide the medical report.