Rape compo

The National Main Stories

By SYLVESTER WEMURU
RELATIVES of a grade eight student in Rai Coast, Madang, settled for compensation after she was allegedly raped by a grade 12 student attending Passam National High School (East Sepik), according to police.
Police officers from Madang, who were at the village to arrest the rapist, refrained because relatives of the victim, a minor, and the alleged offender agreed to solve the matter out of court, with the understanding that the accused was a student.
However, provincial police commander Supt Mazuc Rubiang said the accused would be arrested and warned the public against conducting mediations for criminal offences.
He said police would arrest the alleged offender as her mother had reported the matter.
Besides, the offence was committed against an under-aged girl.
According to police report, on Jan 18 at around 11pm the girl was alone at her family house while her parents travelled to Madang.
While she was sleeping, the grade 12 male student, who was also in the village, went to the house through the main door which was left open for her small brother to come and sleep later.
The girl was asleep when he allegedly went into the house, undressed himself at the corridor, ran into the room, jumped on top of her, ripped off her clothes and sexually penetrated her.
The police report stated that she tried to fight back but he was drunk at that time and used more force to make her weak and helpless.
When she called for help, he allegedly gagged her and raped her before leaving the house.
She reported the matter to her mother when she came back.
Her mother then reported the matter to the police and when police tried to arrest the suspect, they said they would solve the matter out of court. The police did as the victim’s family said and witnessed the compensation ceremony at Rai Coast last week.
Supt Rubiang discouraged families and relatives of victims to accept compensations and allow justice to prevail.
Meanwhile, East Sepik police commander Supt Albert Beli told The National yesterday that local communities tried to engage police as mediators during compensation demands.
However, he said that was not their role.
“Policemen and women should not be used as mediators.”

12 comments

  • The relatives of the victim must have desperately need the money so they are receiving compensation, otherwise the rapist must face the full force of the law. The student title doesn’t guarantees him to pay compensation and escape the penalty.
    we need to respect our women/girls in our communities

  • A criminal offence is not to be entertained with compensation. The offender must face the law because of the seriousness of the crime. Come on police man, law of the country is getting weak because compensation takes the place of punishment/sentences.

  • How can the Policeman allow mediation and consequently compensation in the community out of the lawful courts when it is a Criminal Offence ? How?

    Do they understand their roles and responsibilities ?

    What about the victim in the post ordeal ?

    PPC, the criminal must be brought to justice and your officers involved be disciplined and further trained on the roles & responsibilities and especially in the subject of allowing compensation for criminal matters.

  • Police must go and execute the arrest, minors or rape victims are protected by law and there is no out of court settlement for this crime regardless if the perpetrator is a student.

    Police, you are there to protect and serve the interest of the victim not the law breaking individual.

  • Arrest everyone from the accused and victims families that were involved in the compensation payment including the accused and lock them all up

  • The parents of the victim must know that, it will take a long time for their poor daughter to forgot what had happen to her whilst the criminal or rapist moves around proudly and boastfully in the community. It will be more painful and disgusting when the victim bypasses the coward and rapist
    Finally who benefited the compensation? It would more appropriate that the cash should have being deposited into the victims account for her Education, rather than the parents and the family benefited from the guilt, shame and hurt the victim received.. And there is no justification for the crimes like this

  • Forcefully raping and under age girl by a drunkard student is just insane and inhuman. The rapist is a rapist who intentionally did what he did which is just right for him to face the law.
    Being a student does not warrant your right to go around raping under age girls and sorting this issue out of court. The Law is a Law and it should take its course to have the rapist face the consequences of law.

    It is just sick for the parents to just agree to sort the matter out of court and what about the experience and hurt in girl who does not deserve it. Your own daughter being raped and you just agreed to settle out of court. The rapist has destroyed her future and she will live with this experience all her life.

  • i disagree with the relatives, they should let the perpetrator face the full law enforcement so that it will also be a lesson for others. The compensation is just a compensation but the girl will have this emotional and mantel disorder in relation to the incident is a lifelong ill feeling.
    Let the law and order prevail…
    Don’t let money blind us people of Papua New Guinea.

  • How comes the police who went there to arrest the suspect were watching while the mediation was going on. Does it mean that only the PPC has the power to arrest over such crime?

  • Compensation paid. But he still needs to he arrested charged and jailed. What to say he wont repeat the offense again.

  • The relatives of the victim set such a precedence which is not good. The culprit would have been arrested for the crime he committed.

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