Teen sentenced to 25yrs for murder of student

By JIMMY KALEBE
A STUDENT, 17, has been jailed for 25 years for killing a colleague in an argument in Finschhafen, Morobe, in August last year.
Despite a compensation payment worth K19,000, some pigs and other gifts made to the deceased’s family earlier, Lae National Court judge Frazer Pitpit said that did not match the life that was lost and the pain inflicted on immediate family members.
Justice Pitpit told Maric Botiriwec, of Siririo village, that the sentence would serve as a reformatory punishment for him.
Although Botiriwec was under the age of 18 years, he was tried as an adult.
Justice Pitpit said: “The gift of life to a person is an ultimate gift which no one has the right to take it at any cost.
“Being a very young man, you have a long way to go and to finish your education and live your dreams but those dreams are now deserted because of your uncontrolled actions.”
In a quiet and half-filled courtroom, the youth wept and wiped away his tears.
His family members joined him afterwards as he was being taken to Buimo.
The police report said the fight started when the victim saw Botiriwec with his sister, also a student at the same school. He was not happy and started a fight.
Botiriwec grabbed a bush knife from his friend’s bag and cut the victim over the right eye towards his ear. The victim bled to death.
Justice Pitpit ordered 11 months and three weeks deducted from the sentence for the time spent in custody.
He said the use of bush knives as a lethal weapon was common.