The State v Isaac Wapuri

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Citation: [1994] PNGLR 271
• Date: 26 April 1994
• Court: National Court
• Year: 1994

National Court: Kapi DCJ

Judgment Delivered: 26 April 1994

1 Criminal law—Criminal Law (Compensation) Act 1991—sentence—compensation order under custom of victim's clan

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Kapi DCJ: The accused pleaded guilty to a charge of grievous bodily harm contrary to s319 of the Code.

At the time of the offence, the accused was living with his cousin and his wife. Prior to the commission of this offence, accused's cousin's wife, the victim in this case made advances towards him for sexual intercourse. The accused refused to have sexual intercourse. On the 1st September 1993, when the accused returned to the house from work he found all his clothes were thrown all over the place. The accused believed that this was done by the victim because he had refused to have sexual intercourse with her. This belief was not contested by State. This angered the accused and he obtained a cable of handbrake of a motor vehicle and assaulted the victim across the face. This resulted in injuries to the left eye—a mascular tear in the left eye. Dr Peter Korombo in a medical report dated 30 September 1993 concluded the injury to the left eye "amounts to 90% of visual loss of the left eye. This is a permanent change and there is nothing further that can be done to improve the vision."

Having regard to the facts of this case and all the factors in favour of the accused, I would impose a sentence of eighteen months in hard labour. He has spent a total of five months waiting for this trial. This will be taken as part of the eighteen months term. In...