The State v Nick Pinga (2010) N3852

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Date: 04 February 2010
• Citation: (2010) N3852
• Docket Number: CR NO 689 OF 2008
• Court: National Court
• Year: 2010

Full Title: CR NO 689 OF 2008; The State v Nick Pinga (2010) N3852

National Court: Cannings J

Judgment Delivered: 4 February 2010

CRIMINAL LAW—grievous bodily harm, Criminal Code, Section 319—trial—whether the accused was the person who did grievous bodily harm to the complainant.

The accused was charged with unlawfully doing grievous bodily harm to the complainant in a gathering at the accused’s residence, during which the accused and the complainant and other persons present had been consuming alcohol. The complainant had a bottle of beer smashed over his face and has lost sight in one eye.

Held:

(1) There are two elements of the offence under Section 319: doing grievous bodily harm to another person; and doing it unlawfully.

(2) The first element was not proven as, although the State proved that the complainant suffered grievous bodily harm by virtue of having a bottle of beer smashed over his face, it was not proven that the accused was the person responsible. The accused was accordingly found not guilty.

Cases cited

No cases are cited in the judgment.

TRIAL

This was the trial of an accused charged with unlawfully doing grievous bodily harm.

VERDICT

4 February, 2010

1. CANNINGS J: Nick Pinga, the accused, a middle-aged East Sepik man, is charged with unlawfully doing grievous bodily harm to the complainant, Pius Mon, a Western Highlands man aged in his 20s. The offence is said to have been committed during a drinking party at the accused’s residence at Gov Stoa settlement in Madang on the night of Saturday 11 August 2007. The State alleges the accused smashed a beer bottle over the complainant’s head, causing permanent loss of sight in the left eye. The complainant was at the time a student at the nearby Divine Word University.

2. It is agreed that the complainant was badly injured on the night of the incident and that he is now permanently blind in one eye.

ISSUES

3. s319 of the Criminal Code states:

A person who unlawfully does grievous bodily harm to another person is guilty of a crime.

Penalty: Imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years.

4. The offence has two elements:

• doing grievous bodily harm to another person;

• doing it unlawfully.

5. To determine whether the first element is satisfied, reference must be made to the definition of “grievous bodily harm” in Section 1 of the Criminal Code. It...