The State v Tolly Amindi (2004) N2683

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Citation: (2004) N2683
• Date: 05 May 2004
• Court: National Court
• Year: 2004

Full Title: The State v Tolly Amindi (2004) N2683

National Court: Kandakasi J

Judgment Delivered: 5 May 2004

1 CRIMINAL LAW—PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE—No case submission—Second limb under The State v Paul Kundi Rape [1976] PNGLR 96—No direct evidence on issue for trial—Inconsistency in State's case—Effect of—Accused having no case to answer.

2 The State v Paul Kundi Rape [1976] PNGLR 96, The State v Peter Malihombu (2003) N2365, The State v Damien Anis [2002] PNGLR 614 referred to

Ruling On No Case Submission

___________________________

Kandakasi J: You stand charge with one charge of murdering your late husband Peter Amindi. You raised the defence of accident under s24(1)(a) and (b).

At the end of the prosecution case, you through your lawyer made a no case submission. Initially, this application was under the first limb of The State v Paul Kundi Rape [1976] PNGLR 96. The basis for that was that, the prosecution did not produce any evidence establishing you as the killer. However, you abandoned your application under that limb on the Court drawing to counsel's attention that, the issue for trial was whether the accused brought about the death of the deceased accidentally or was it deliberate.

The effect of your defence was that all the other elements of the offence, such as the identity of the killer, the deceased being attacked by you and dying in the consequence of that stood admitted. Indeed that is the correct legal position. A number...