The State v Kennedy Arus (2001) N2081

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Citation: (2001) N2081
• Date: 16 March 2001
• Court: National Court
• Year: 2001

Full Title: The State v Kennedy Arus (2001) N2081

National Court: Kandakasi J

Judgment Delivered: 16 March 2001

1 CRIMINAL LAW—Sentence—Armed robbery of a PMV bus on highway whilst still in motion—Offence committed whilst pursuing an unlawful purpose—Possessing and using illegally homemade guns—Forceful takeover of driving of bus and endangering lives—Passengers and driver abandoned in unfamiliar area—Plea of guilty—No prior convictions—Time to increase tariffs set by the Supreme Court—National Court obliged to follow guidelines set by the Supreme Court—8 years imprisonment imposed—Criminal Code (Ch262) s386

2 The State v Sabarina Yakal (1988–89] PNGLR 129, The State v Jason Dongoma (2000) N2038, Public Prosecutor v Don Hale (1998) SC564, Tau Jim Anis v The State (2000) SC642 and Gimble v The State (1988–89] PNGLR 271 referred to

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Kandakasi J: The accused pleaded guilty to one count of armed robbery under s386(1), (2)(a) and (b) of the Criminal Code (Ch262) (hereinafter "the Code").

The Allegation

The charge against the accused is this. On the 27 September 2000 at Korofeigu, Bena, in here in the Eastern Highlands Province, he stole from one Mr Apa Waundo and others with actual violence a motor vehicle, namely, a white Toyota Coaster PMV 25 seater bus, Registration number P. 463W (hereinafter "the bus"), money in the sum of K350 in cash and various other items the property of Mr Waundo and others. At the time of the offence, the accused was armed with two dangerous weapons, namely two home–made guns and was in the company of five others.

The Facts

The State alleges and is accepted by the Defendant that, the bus had originally travelled in from Kundiawa and was heading to Lae. It stopped at the Goroka market bus stop to drop off passengers who wanted to get off in Goroka and to pick up new ones intending to go to Lae. The accused and his five other accomplices got in the bus pretending to be passengers wanting to travel to Lae. The bus then drove out of Goroka heading for Lae. When it reached Korofeigu in the Benabena area here in the Eastern Highlands Province, the accused and his accomplices drew two homemade guns and held up the driver Mr Waundo and the other passengers in the bus at that time. Then one of the accomplices took over the driving of the bus by force from Mr Waundo and drove off the Okuk Highway into the Benabena High School road with the driver and passengers still inside. The holdup took place whilst the bus was still in motion.

The accused and his accomplices drove pass the Benabena High School and stopped some distances away and ordered everybody in the bus to step out and they searched them at gunpoint. They then stole from the driver and the other passenger's money totalling K350.00 in cash, a pair of shoes and a wrist watch.

After robbing the driver and his passengers, the accused and his accomplices abandoned them and drove away in the bus toward Goroka. Most of the victims were not familiar with the area where they were abandoned. After the accused and his accomplices left, the victims managed to walk to the Benabena Police Station and from there they contacted Goroka Police and reported the robbery. Goroka Police immediately attended to the report and apprehended the accused and three others who were heading for Goroka after having committed the offence. According to Police evidence on file, the accused and his three accomplices tried to escape so the police wounded them. They were then taken to the Goroka Base Hospital for treatment and then to the police lock up. They have since been kept in custody.

There is no evidence on file to show whether the accused's accomplice who took over the driving forcefully from the driver of the bus was a properly licensed and experienced driver. It is however, clear from evidence on file that, he drove in a very dangerous manner putting at risk lives of the passengers and the legal driver of the bus. That was in addition to the bus itself which was valued at about K107,000.00 at the time of the offence. The bus was recovered but it is not clear whether the cash and the other items stolen from the passengers and the driver were recovered.

After arraigning the accused, I entered a provisional plea of guilty and then admitted into evidence without any objection from the defence counsel, the depositions together with the antecedent report. After reading the depositions, I was satisfied that, there was sufficient material to support the accused's guilty plea. I therefore, proceeded to confirm the guilty plea and convicted the accused on the one count of armed robbery under s386(1), (2)(a) and (b) of the...