The State v Lawrie Patrick, Phillip Lahari, Mark Nainas and Moko Hokaia [1995] PNGLR 195

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Court: National Court
• Citation: [1995] PNGLR 195
• Date: 23 June 1995
• Year: 1995

Full Title: The State v Lawrie Patrick, Phillip Lahari, Mark Nainas and Moko Hokaia [1995] PNGLR 195

National Court: Sevua J

Judgment Delivered: 23 June 1995

1 Criminal law—sentence—rape—pack rape—16–year–old victim—guidelines—starting point 8 years—aggravating factors—mitigating factors—intoxication—principle offenders—Criminal Code s7(1)(c) and (d)—sentence of 12 years

2 John Aubuku v The State [1987] PNGLR 267, Wellington Belawa v The State [1988–89] PNGLR 496, Gimble v The State [1988–89] PNGLR 271, Kwayawako v The State [1990] PNGLR 6, Paul Mase and Kopa Lore John v The State [1991] PNGLR 88, State v Kaski (1994) Unnumbered and unreported National Court judgment, The State v Peter Kaudik [1987] PNGLR 201 and The State v Michael Amuna Koupa [1987] PNGLR 208 referred to

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Sevua J: The four accuseds were found guilty, after a trial, of the rape of Olivia John, at Lombrum Naval Base on 24 December, 1993.

Lawrie Patrick and Phillip Lahari were convicted of actually raping the prosecutrix in two separate acts of sexual intercourse. Mark Nainas was convicted as a principal offender pursuant to s7(1)(d) of the Criminal Code for counseling or procuring Lawrie Patrick to commit rape upon the victim. And Moko Hokaia was also convicted as a principal offender pursuant to s7(1)(c) of the Criminal Code for aiding Phillip Lahari to commit rape upon the prosecutrix.

The trial lasted seven days and involved eleven prosecution witnesses and five defence witnesses including the four prisoners. As is usual in a rape trial, the victim was put under stress to relieve the traumatic experience she was subjected to on 24 December, 1993. During the trial which attracted a packed courtroom almost throughout the trial with even a bigger crowd of spectators surrounding the courtroom, the victim was subjected to the embarrassment and pain of recounting publicly, the crime of rape committed against her. This was a hight profile trial since it had attracted alot of publicity and attention within the small township of Lorengau and the Lombrum Patrol Boat Base as well. The intensity of this trial was manifested by the fact that the courtroom was always packed to capacity each day and there was always a huge crowd of listeners outside the courtroom and within the fenced perimeters of the courtroom. In my view the sentence must reflect that this was a trial when the victim had to recall her degradation.

Counsels have cited two wellknown cases which deal with the sentencing principles for this crime and which I would...