The State v Justin Vincent Nyama [1991] PNGLR 127

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Court: National Court
• Citation: [1991] PNGLR 127
• Date: 23 April 1991
• Year: 1991

Full Title: The State v Justin Vincent Nyama [1991] PNGLR 127

National Court: Hinchliffe J

Judgment Delivered: 23 April 1991

1 Criminal law—sentence—robbery—plea of guilty—young first offender—good character and family support—no prior conviction

2 Criminal law—sentence—alternative sentence with view of rehabilitation—sentence to be good for community and to benefit offender

3 Criminal law—sentence—pay expense of probation—compensation to victim—effect of sentencing to punish, reform—some imprisonment

4 CRIMINAL LAW—Sentence—Particular cases—Robbery—Young first offender—Plea of guilty—Good character and family support—Rehabilitation desirable—Four years IHL—Term suspended on conditions—Home imprisonment—Payment of expenses of probation—Compensation to victim.

5 CRIMINAL LAW—Sentencing—Imprisonment—Suspended sentence—Terms and conditions of—Young first offender—Good character and family support—Home imprisonment—Payment of probation expenses—Compensation to victim.

A 16–year–old youth was charged with robbery of a motor vehicle while in the company of others. He pleaded guilty. The youth was a first offender of good character with a supportive family.

Held,

that in the circumstances and taking into account the need for punishment to be rehabilitative, the youth should be convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for four years in hard labour to be suspended on entering into a period of probation for three years with a number of conditions including home imprisonment, community work service, payment of property damage, compensation to the victim and payment towards the cost of supervising the probation.

Gimble v The State [1988–89] PNGLR 271, Kuri Willie v The State [1987] PNGLR 298, R v Davey (1980) 2 A Crim R 254, R v Taggart (1923) 17 Cr App R 132 and The State v Frank Kagai [1987] PNGLR 320 referred to

Plea

An accused pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery and the following reasons for sentence were delivered.

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Hinchliffe J: You have pleaded guilty that on 31 October 1990 you stole from Lemech Palaso with threats to use actual violence a blue Mazda 929 sedan registration number, ZGB 723, the property of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. At the time you were in the company of other people.

The brief facts of this case are that at about 8 pm on 31 October, last year, you and five other young people held up the victim...