Voco Point robber jailed for eight years

THE National Court in Lae has sentenced a 20-year-old from Sepik toeight years in jail, for holding up and robbing Momase regional acting police commander Giossi Labi in Lae in 2007.
More than K2,000 worth of personal items were stolen from Mr Labi and other Lae citizens at Voco Point beach front during the hold-up, the court was told.
Terrence Dimmi of Nagusap village, East Sepik province, was initially found guilty of aggravated armed robbery, contravening section 386 of the Criminal Code.
Dimmi appeared before Justice Sao Gabi last Wednesday.
The court was told that on Jan13, 2007, between noon and 2pm, Dimmi and his accomplices were armed with a home-made gun and a bayonet.
It was told that these were the weapons they used to hold up and threatened Mr Labi and the others.
Dimmi and his accomplices then stole from the group items valued at about  K2,520.
When handing down the sentence, Justice Gabi said that robbery of innocent law-abiding citizens with use of firearms were becoming prevalent.
He said this offence was mainly committed by young men in the society and believed that strong deterrent and punitive sentences were needed to be imposed to deter similar crimes in the future.