The State v Warip Mondol, Luwi Nehie, Kupim Pepilo, Paul Embril and Dain Sonk (2004) N2707

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Judge: Lenalia J
• Judgment Date: 19 August 2004
• Court: National Court
• Citation: (2004) N2707
• Year: 2004
• Judgement Number: N2707

Full Title: The State v Warip Mondol, Luwi Nehie, Kupim Pepilo, Paul Embril and Dain Sonk (2004) N2707

National Court: Lenalia J

Judgment Delivered: 19 August 2004

1 Criminal Law—Sentence—Aggravated armed robbery—Armed robbery of vehicle on public highway—Stealing with actual violence—Victim cut with bush knives—Guns and bush knives—Use of—Criminal Code (Ch262), s386(1), (2)(a), (b) and (c).

2 Criminal Law—Aggravated armed robbery—Violence used toward driver of vehicle—Passengers harassed and striped naked in search of valuables—Substantial cash amount stolen—Valuables and properties worth thousands of kina stolen—Offence committed with actual violence—Sentence.

3 Gimble v The State [1988–89] PNGLR 271, Public Prosecutor v Don Hale (1998) SC564, Tau Jim Anis v The State (2000) SC642, Dadly Henry Gorop v The State (2003) SC732, Richard Sebastine v The State (2003) CR. No. 43 of 2003, (unreported decision of 1.10.2003) referred to

___________________________

N2707

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

[In the National Court of Justice]

CR. NO: 920 OF 2004

THE STATE

-v-

WARIP MONDOL, LUWI NEHIE, KUPIM PEPILO

PAUL EMBRIL & DAIN SONK

Mendi: Lenalia, J.

2004: 12, 19August

Criminal Law – Sentence – Aggravated armed robbery – Armed robbery of

vehicle on public highway – Stealing with actual violence – Victim cut with bush knives – Guns and bush knives – Use of – Criminal Code s. 386 (1) (2) (a)(b) and (c), Ch. No. 262.

Criminal Law – Aggravated armed robbery – Violence used toward driver of

vehicle – Passengers harassed and striped naked in search of valuables – Substantial cash amount stolen – Valuables and properties worth thousands of kina stolen – Offence committed with actual violence – Sentence.

Cases cited

Gimble -v- The State [1988-89] PNGLR. 271

Public Prosecutor -v- Don Hale (1998) SC. 564

Tau Jim Anis -v- The State (2000) SC 642

Dadly Henry Gorop -v- The State (2003) SC 732

Richard Sebastine -v- The State (2003) CR. No. 43 of 2003

(unreported decision of 1.10.2003).

Counsels

S.Kesno, for the State

P. Kapi, for the Accused

19th August 2004

LENALIA, J. The five accused entered pleas of guilty to one count of aggravated armed robbery contrary to s. 386 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c) of the Criminal Code.

The facts are that on 22nd of September 2003, Thomas Poppa was a driver of a Toyota Land cruiser yellow Utility Reg. No. BAQ – 832 returned from Koroba through Tari then to Mendi. In Tari, he picked up about 13 or 14 passengers who wanted to come and do some business in Mendi. Most passengers had brought with them large sums of money. An example of one of them Mr. Tandape Punga was and is a small businessman running a trade store in Tari. In his case, he brought with him a cash sum of K9,535.00 with the intention to buy trade store goods in Mendi.

On their way past the Nipa Station, they came toward the first two corners up towards the Demin village, they came across a road block with huge stones placed across the road from side to side. Thinking that some youths were working on the road site to stop PMVs passing through and collect some monies from passing vehicles, Thomas stopped. But as he was stopping, Thomas and his passengers realized that they had come into an ambush and some men armed with bush knives and home/made guns converged upon the vehicle from both sides of the road.

One of the men with a bush knife came to the driver and demanded the driver to hand over the vehicle keys to him. Thomas Pippon got up and said, he was not going to give the vehicle keys away to criminals. A second man also armed with a bush knife intervened and supported the first man and when the driver kept refusing to deliver up the car keys, the second person swung the bush knife at the driver. In an attempt to defend himself, the driver threw his left hand up to catch the knife, but in so doing, he was chopped on his left upper arm.

The man who swung the knife at the driver, opened the door on the side where the driver was and demanded for the car keys. The driver still sitting behind the steering wheel was stabbed on the side and he was chopped the third time. He threw the car keys to them and he was dragged out from the vehicle and dragged him to the trailer where all his passengers were. By this time his two off-siders were already dragged outside as well.

The man who got the vehicle keys got behind the steering wheels and got it started and instead of going forward, he reversed to the rear and ran off the road and overturned into the drain.

Soon after that, all the passengers including their driver were led away into an old quarry pit where they were ordered to stand up and each of them were searched. Some of the passengers were ordered to strip and a female victim was stripped and dragged in a little distance in an attempt to rape her. All cash, watches, shoes and even clothings were removed from passengers. Some of those passengers worth a mention on this judgment because they lost substantial sums of cash monies. For instance

1. Tandape Punga lost a cash sum of K9,535.00

2. Thomas Poppa lost a cash sum of K6,000.00

3. Yalube Moses Pulube lost a cash sum of K1,485.00

4. Yalu Mokai lost a cash sum of K668.00

5. Andako Walipe lost a cash sum of K560.00

6. Jannifer Tagazu lost a cash sum of K 500.00

7. Lucy Thomas lost a cash sum of K355.00

8. Thomas Tai lost a cash sum of K136.00

9. Margerette Tukupe lost a cash sum of K50.00

10. Jopu Kene lost a cash sum of K50.00

11. Alice Thomas lost a cash sum of K20.00

The total of the above cash amounts to K19,659.00 being the amount stolen from this armed robbery. Apart from the above other properties stolen were worth some K12,496.00, the property of Thomas Pippon and his passengers.

On behalf of the five accused, the defence counsel submitted that the Court should take into account his clients had pleaded guilty to this very serious charge and that they each had shown some remorse when making their statements in allocutus. Certainly, the Court shall take into account their guilty pleas.

Mr. Kapi of counsel for the five accused cited a number of cases including the well-known and often quoted case of Gimble v The State [1988-89] PNGLR 271 where the Supreme Court categorized various forms of armed robberies and suggested a tariff of sentencing range to be adopted in a particular category. Counsel was right in saying the accused case fall into the third category in the above case as this robbery was committed along a public thoroughfare on the highway linking Tari and Mendi on this Province.

I note that the suggested tariff for the third category in Gimble where the Supreme Court said that in case of first young offenders who carry offensive weapons and use threats of violence to rob a store or a vehicle on the road as in this case, a sentence of 5 years should be appropriate in contested cases and less where there was a plea.

However, in Public Prosecutor v Don Hale (1998) SC 564 the Supreme Court said at page 4 of the judgment that with prevalence of violent crimes involving the use of guns and other weapons, the sentencing guidelines set down in Gimble’s case were no longer relevant today.

Even since Done Hale’s case (supra) and that Tau Jim Anis v The State (2000) SC. 642, sentences for armed robberies have been raised considerably. In Dadly Henry Gorop v The State (2003) SC. 732, that was the case where Dadly was sentenced by the National Court sitting in Kokopo to a term of 20 years less than the time spent in custody. I was the trial judge and the case involved an aggravated robbery where a Canadian couple were led by the...