Woman jailed for killing

By GEORGINA KOREI
WOMEN are human beings like men and must be respected in marriage and the way people live as married couples,” a judge says.
Judge Nicholas Miviri said this in the National Court in Vanimo last Monday when jailing Dianne Api, from Imbio, Vanimo, West Sepik, 20 years for killing her husband over his marriage to another woman as his second wife.
“The time spent in custody will be deducted from the jail term of 20 years, and you shall serve the remaining in prison,” he told Api.
Judge Miviri said Api was a first-time offender and she admitted the offence to police and maintained it all through in court.
“In my view, a crime was committed because Api saw her husband coming with a second wife which provoked her actions,” he said.
“She could not be blamed for the way she acted.”
“But to exterminate the life of a fellow human being this way is gruesome.
“But the deceased (Mone) is to be blamed for the way he brought this second wife into his life with Api.”
He added that this kind of murder was serious and must be stopped with a stern deterrent and punitive punishment.
“The home is where life is lived and if it is not harmonious, the community will not be,” he said.
On March 10, at around 6pm, Api was at Peiwi settlement in Vanimo.
She saw her husband Ezra Mone come into the settlement with his second wife Cathy Maibo.
Api got angry, picked up a knife and started swinging it at Maibo, but at that instant Mone stepped in between them.
The knife got him in the neck, cutting it and injuring him badly.
He was taken to the hospital but died due to massive bleeding.
Api had intended to cause grievous bodily harm to Maibo but Mone stepped in and died as a result.
Api admitted the offence to police and maintained that in court.