Anna Max Marangi v The State (2002) SC702

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Citation: (2002) SC702
• Date: 08 November 2002
• Court: Supreme Court
• Year: 2002

Full Title: Anna Max Marangi v The State (2002) SC702

Supreme Court: Jalina J, Injia J, Sawong J

Judgment Delivered: 8 November 2002

1 Criminal Law—Appeal against sentence—Manslaughter—Nine (9) years—Multiple stabbing with kitchen knife, by wife of husband's "girl–friend"—Deceased seven (7) months pregnant—Sentencing tariff for manslaughter and murder cases discussed—Appeal dismissed.

2 Antap Yala v The State (1996) SCR 69 of 1996, Jack Tanga v The State [1999] PNGLR 216, John Kapil Tapi v The State (2000) SC635, Lawrence Simbe v The State [1994] PNGLR 38, Public Prosecutor v John Mela (2001) (Unreported and Unnumbered Supreme Court Judgment dated 28 June 2001; SCRA 17 of 2001), Rex Lialu v The State [1990] PNGLR 487, The State v Eddy Kava Laura (No 2) [1988–89] PNGLR 98, The State v Margaret John (No 2) [1996] PNGLR 298, The State v Maria Er (1998) N1749, Saina Paul v The State (Unreported and Unnumbered decision of the Supreme Court), Noring John v The State (2002) (Unreported and Unnumbered Supreme Court Judgment from SCRA 14/2002) and The State v Peter Kose Wena [1993] PNGLR 168 referred to

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By the Court: This is an appeal against sentence imposed by the National Court at Mt Hagen on 6 August 2001. The appellant was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment upon pleading guilty to a charge of manslaughter. The only ground (of 3 grounds) of appeal pursued by the appellant and argued before us is that the sentence was excessive in the circumstances.

The circumstances of the killing were that the appellant is a 26 year old woman from Pasalagus village, Maramuni, in the Enga Province. She was married to a man from her area by the name of Max. They lived at Tabubil for some time where her husband worked. Sometimes in 2000, she returned to her village and lived there. On 22 December 2000 she received information that her husband was coming home via Mt Hagen. So she got on a MAF plane and flew down to Mt Hagen and in the night, she went to one Nancy John's house, where she expected Max to be staying. She entered the house and saw the deceased one Ms Juliana Ansu, "sleeping" on a lounge chair watching TV. The deceased was seven (7) months pregnant at that time. The appellant had suspected Juliana of being her husband's girl–friend and having an affair with her husband. She then stabbed the deceased with a kitchen knife on her chest twice. The appellant then left the house with the knife in her hand which she later threw away. The deceased was immediately rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

There was some argument before us between counsel as to whether there was a fight between the appellant and the deceased which preceded the stabbing. We need to resolve this factual issue first because it is relevant on sentence.

The State's version of facts upon which the accused pleaded guilty was that the appellant was armed with a kitchen knife which she took with her when she went to Nancy's house. She approached the deceased who was "sleeping away" on a chair, took out the knife and stabbed her twice. The deceased died of massive internal bleeding from the wounds.

These facts were not disputed by the appellant in her statement on the allocutus or by her counsel in his submissions on sentence. There was no suggestion from the appellant or her counsel of any fight between the appellant and the deceased which preceded the stabbing.

In the trial in submissions on sentence, her counsel Mr Aipe who is also her counsel in this appeal, made vague references to the appellant's answers to questions 17–23 of the Record of Interview. We reproduce questions and answers Nos 17–21 below:

"Q.17 What did you do to Juliana when you saw her in the house?

Ans. Juliana asked me saying who are you looking for and I said I came to look for my husband Max and Juliana said he is my husband too and not only you and she fought me with a pocket knife of hers and I got the knife and stab her with the knife."

Q.18...