Woman charged with raping minor

A YOUNG woman from Teremanda, Enga province, appeared before the Waigani Committal Court yesterday on charges of raping a minor.
It is alleged that on Aug 22 this year, Pamela Liu, 20, asked the victim, who is the younger brother of her husband, to escort her to Rainbow Estate, Port Moresby, to buy liquor.
That night, around 11pm, after plying the victim with alcohol, Liu allegedly unzipped the victim’s tr ousers and tried to molest him, but was pushed away.
After falling into a drunken slumber, the victim awoke to find his genitals painful and bleeding, while Liu was sitting next to him.
The matter was immediately reported to the Gerehu police station, after which Liu was arrested and charged with the sexual penetration of a minor.
She was released on K500 bail.
Yesterday, the defence counsel from the Kumul Legal Group Lawyers, applied before the court for the matter to be struck out and Liu’s bail refunded.
He argued that four months had lapsed since his client had been charged but police had not done their part by filing the papers before the courts.
Magistrate Pinson Pindipia, however, said it was three months since the case was first heard and he could not strike it out due to the nature of the alleged offence.
Should the police come up with further evidence, a re-arrest would only be a repeat of a lengthy process, the magistrate said.
The case was adjourned to Dec 14, giving time for the police to conduct more investigations.
Meanwhile, with the Christmas season already here, business at the Waigani court is winding down, which was apparent yesterday from the deserted look of the court grounds.