The State v Bernard Konombo

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Judge: Bidar AJ
• Judgment Date: 21 November 1997
• Citation: (1997) N1742
• Court: National Court
• Year: 1997
• Judgement Number: N1742

National Court: Bidar AJ

Judgment Delivered: 21 November 1997

N1742

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

[In the National Court of Justice]

CR. 1214/97

THE STATE

-v-

BERNARD KONOMBO

MADANG : BIDAR, AJ.

1997 : 19 & 21 November

CRIMINAL LAW - Unlawful Carnal Knowledge - Plea of guilty -

Victim nine (9) years and three (3) months

old - repeated acts of sexual intercourse -

Features of aggravation - Hymen torn -

Presence of gonococci

CRIMINAL LAW - Sentence - Prior Conviction for similar

offence - absence of proper guidelines -

guidelines analogous to rape - Principles

in rape appropriate - Four years

imprisonment.

CASES CITED

The following cases are cited in the Judgement.

John Aubuku -v- The State [1987] PNGLR 267

The State -v- Sotie Apusa [1988-89] PNGLR 170

The State -v- Komai Airi CR. 1290/96

Mr M. Ruarri, for the State.

Mr D. Sakumai, for the Accused.

JUDGEMENT ON SENTENCE

21 November 1997

BIDAR, AJ.: BERNARD KONOMBO, you have pleaded guilty to the charge that, on the 14th June 1997, you had sexual intercourse with a girl called, LYDIA PHILIP, a girl under the age of twelve years old. This is an offence under s. 213 of the Criminal Code Act (Ch. 262).

The circumstances of the offence are fairly simple. On Saturday 14 June 1997, at Silibob village, you approached victim’s parents and asked them if you could take the victim, Lydia Philip, to visit M.V. DOULOS at the town main wharf. The victim’s parents agreed and so you took her away. Instead of visiting M.V. Doulos you took her to a friend’s house at the ‘public tank’ area, Sissiak. You spent the night of Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th June, where you slept with victim in the same room and on same bed and had sexual intercourse with her. You had sexual intercourse with her on two previous occasions. Once by the creek in the village and second time was in Suckling’s house at Silibob village. Suckling is your wantok from Oro Province, married to a Silibob woman. On Monday 15 June 1997 after you returned from work, you took victim back to her parents at Silibob village. There at the village, she reported to her parents of what you did to her. Subsequently, the matter was reported to Police and you were arrested and charged for this offence. On the facts it seems to me, you should have been charged with at least three acts of unlawful carnal knowledge of the same victim.

Section 213 of the Criminal Code prescribes the offence you are charged with. It is in these terms:

“(1) a person who has unlawful carnal knowledge

of a girl under the age of 12 years is guilty of

a crime.

Penalty: Subject to section 19,

imprisonment for life.

(2) ..........

(3) In the case of an offender whose age does not

exceed 16 years, the Court, instead of sentencing

him to any term of imprisonment, may order him

to be sent to an industrial or reformatory school

for a period not exceeding three years.”

I am not sure whether there are industrial or reformatory schools and whether Boys Towns in Wewak, Erap and other places are classified as such.

It is a serious offence as the penalty reflects it’s seriousness. Under the Code, three sexual offences attract life imprisonment. The offence of rape under s. 347, offence of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under 12 years old under s. 213 and incest by man under s. 223.

It is unlawful to have sexual intercourse with girls under the age of twelve years old, because they are immature and incapable of appreciating such acts.

On your allocutus, you say it was your first time to commit such an offence. But I find this is not so. You were convicted by this Court of similar offence committed on the 31st March 1997 on a girl under the age of 16 years old. The victim according to the photostat copy of the page of her clinic book was born on 7th March 1988. On my calculation she was nine years, three months and one week old at the time of the offence. A medical...