Hefty 40 and 28 years’ jail for killers

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Hefty 40 and 28 years’ jail for killers

PORT MORESBY: Justice Lawrence Kangwia has slapped hefty sentences on two murderers, jailing a 46-year-old father of two 40 years for killing his wife and a father of three 28 years for killing a man.

The sentencing of the two cases were reported by The National:

Murderers get 40yrs and 28yrs

October 1, 2021The NationalMain Stories

By JIMMY KALEBE
JUSTICE Lawrence Kangwia has slapped hefty sentences on two murderers, jailing a 46-year-old father of two 40 years for killing his wife and a father of three 28 years for killing a man.
Justice Kangwia, sitting as the National Court circuit judge in Lae for three weeks, jailed Ismael Amjoni, from Menyamya’s Hakwange village, Morobe, for murdering his 28-year-old wife in November 2019.
Manjang Kanjip, from Bulolo’s Sangas village, Morobe, was sentenced to jail for bludgeoning a man to death with a digging iron in December 2019.
Justice Kangwia, in sentencing Amjoni, said the murder was unprovoked torture and killing of his wife.
“It was a brutal and cold-blooded killing of a harmless and innocent woman, disregard for sanctity of life and an offence that is prevalent in society,” he exclaimed.
Amjoni killed his wife in their family house and carried her body and left it in a nearby creek.
The mutilated body was found the next day beside the creek in the village.
According to the medical report, Amjoni’s wife had multiple wounds on the scalp, eyebrows, a severed tongue and nipples, forehead, lower lip, below the chin and genital area.
The defence counsel submitted that the case fell into the second and third category of the guidelines in the Manu Kovi v the State (2005) SC 789.
The State counsel submitted that Amjoni sought a sentence of 25 to 35 years, taking into account the manner in which the prisoner murdered his wife.
Justice Kangwia said after considering most of the determinations under category 4 of the Manu Kovi case, “this case is in the worst category of murder”.
“The case demands a maximum prescribed penalty,” he said.
“However, it was not sought by the state and there was no request for that (maximum penalty) which dissuades me from imposing life imprisonment.”
Justice Kangwia further ordered Amjoni to serve his full jail sentence with hard labour in Buimo prison after deduction of time in pre-trial custody.
Last Wednesday, Justice Kangwia said in his written sentence that homicide cases were prevalent in Bulolo as shown by the number of homicides that he had to deal with this month.
He said wanton killings must be deterred for society to live peacefully and that was why the sentencing of Kanjip must reflect deterrence.
Both, defence and State counsels in their submissions sought for a sentence of 20 to 25 years and agreed that the case fell into the second and third category of the guidelines in Manu Kovi v the State (2005) SC789.
State counsel further argued that even though the case fell into the second category of the guidelines, there was a loss of life in a vicious, senseless killing without any justification where a digging iron was used as a weapon and the deceased was struck on the head.
The State counsel also submitted that the offence was prevalent in Bulolo. Kanjip bludgeoned the deceased in the latter’s garden, concealed the body with a stone near a river bank.
The medical report presented in court showed that the deceased died from cervical spine injury and blunt force head trauma.
Murder, under Section 300 of the Papua New Guinea Criminal Code Act prescribes a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Taking into consideration Kanjip’s silence throughout the hearing, Justice Kangwia said Kanjip led the court to an irrelevant trial that ended with him remaining mute.
“To remain silent is a right but it cannot operate at the expense of others who could be doing something else, instead of dwelling in his misdeeds,” he said.
“For the 28 years, time in custody will be deducted.”