Elizabeth Mandus Wukawa v Christine Gawi

• Jurisdiction: Papua New Guinea
• Judge: Cannings J
• Judgment Date: 17 August 2015
• Citation: (2015) N6058
• Court: National Court
• Year: 2015
• Judgement Number: N6058

Full : OS NO 41 OF 2014; Elizabeth Mandus Wukawa v Christine Gawi (2015) N6058

National Court: Cannings J

Judgment Delivered: 17 August 2015

N6058

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

[IN THE NATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE]

OS NO 41 OF 2014

ELIZABETH MANDUS WUKAWA

Plaintiff

V

CHRISTINE GAWI

Contemnor

Madang: Cannings J

2015: 20th, 21st July, 17 August

CONTEMPT – disobedience of court order – punishment – whether committal to prison or fine is appropriate – whether appropriate to suspend punishment.

The contemnor was found guilty after trial of contempt of court for disobeying an order of the National Court, dated 22 January 2014, requiring her, as chief executive officer of a public hospital, to reinstate the plaintiff (a dismissed officer) by 5 February 2014, and to pay the plaintiff’s lost salaries and entitlements by 5 March 2014. The contemnor disobeyed the order by not reinstating the plaintiff by 5 February. Her disobedience continued until 5 March 2014 when the Supreme Court stayed the order of 22 January 2014, pending determination of an appeal the contemnor had lodged against the order of 22 January 2014. The appeal was dismissed in October 2014 and immediately after that the contemnor complied with the order of 22 January 2014. A hearing was held to determine punishment.

Held:

(1) A useful starting point for punishment purposes is committal to prison for 12 months or a fine of K2,500.00 or both. The court should then consider punishment imposed in equivalent cases and the mitigating and aggravating factors to assess the form and extent of the appropriate punishment.

(2) There were a number of significant mitigating factors, in particular the contemnor’s exemplary record of public service, the short period of one month that she was in contempt, the speed with which she acted to comply with the National Court order once the Supreme Court appeal was dismissed and the stay order dissolved and the sincerity and completeness of the apology she made to the court and to the plaintiff.

(3) It was nevertheless an intrinsically serious offence, warranting committal to prison for a period of six weeks. It was not appropriate to also impose a fine. The punishment was not suspended.

Cases cited

The following cases are cited in the judgment:

Bank of South Pacific Ltd v Anton Sekum (2011) N4588

Damaru v Vaki OS No 484 of 2014, 03.07.15, unreported

Elias Padura v Stephanie Valikvi (2012) N4894

Elizabeth Mandus Wukawa v Christine Gawi (2015) N6024

Ian Augerea v David Tigavu (2010) N4188

John Rumet Kaputin v The State [1979] PNGLR 559

Kaidai v Nombri (2014) N5718

Newsat Ltd v Telikom PNG Ltd (2008) N3673

Peter Luga v Richard Sikani and The State (2002) N2286)

Sr Dianne Liriope v Dr Jethro Usurup (2009) N3931

Vaki v Baki; In re contempt of court charges against Kulunga (2014) N5612

Yap v Tan [1987] PNGLR 227

PUNISHMENT

This is a decision on punishment for contempt of court.

Counsel

Y Wadau, for the plaintiff

J Brooks, for the contemnor

17th August, 2015

1. CANNINGS J: The contemnor Christine Gawi has been convicted after trial of contempt of court and this is the decision on punishment. She was found guilty after trial of contempt of court for disobeying an order of the National Court, dated 22 January 2014, requiring her, as chief executive officer of Modilon General Hospital, to reinstate the plaintiff (a dismissed officer) by 5 February 2014, and to pay the plaintiff’s lost salaries and entitlements by 5 March 2014.

2. The order was made as a result of judicial review proceedings the contemnor commenced by way of a challenge to a decision of the Public Services Commission that the plaintiff be reinstated and paid lost salaries and entitlements. The challenge was unsuccessful so the Court on 22 January 2014 ordered that the decision of the Public Services Commission be enforced. The order stated:

The decision of the first defendant [the Public Services Commission] dated 14 August 2013 is binding and shall be complied with as soon as practicable, which means that the second defendant [Ms Wukawa] shall be reinstated by 5 February 2014 and be reimbursed her lost salaries and entitlements by 5 March 2014.

3. The contemnor disobeyed that order by not reinstating the plaintiff by 5 February 2014. Her disobedience continued until 5 March 2014 when the Supreme Court stayed the order pending determination of an appeal the contemnor had lodged against it. In finding the contemnor guilty, the Court found that she carelessly disregarded the order of 22 January 2014 by not taking steps to reinstate the plaintiff by 5 February 2014. She made a conscious decision not to reinstate the plaintiff while waiting for her application to the Supreme Court for a stay of the reinstatement order to be heard. Further details of the circumstances in which the offence was committed are in the judgment on verdict, Elizabeth Mandus Wukawa v Christine Gawi (2015) N6024.

ANTECEDENTS

4. The contemnor has no prior convictions.

ALLOCUTUS

5. The contemnor was given the opportunity to address the Court on the question of punishment. She stated:

I am truly sorry that I did not comply with the Court Orders. I have complete respect and admiration for the Courts and the Judiciary system of PNG. I have never been in trouble with the law before.

I understand that I have acted in defiance of Orders made by this Court and I am extremely embarrassed and regretful. I want to convey my deepest regrets and apologies to this Court and to your Honour for my actions.

I also would like to inform the Court that I have nothing personal against Elizabeth Wukawa and I offer my heartfelt apologies for any hardship I have caused her, her family and other members of the public who might have been affected by my actions.

I plead to your Honour for leniency in my sentencing. I have six children under my care, the youngest being three years old and they are wholly dependent on me. I also plead for leniency for the sake of Modilon General Hospital, whom I humbly believe needs my leadership at this point when challenges are numerous.

PERSONAL PARTICULARS

6. The court received a pre-sentence report from the Community Corrections and Rehabilitation Service, which confirmed the personal particulars the contemnor provided in an affidavit and concluded that she is highly regarded in the Madang community and highly suitable for probation in the event that she is given a suspended sentence.

7. Christine Gawi is 57 years old, from Masandanai village, Angoram District, East Sepik Province. She is a single mother with one natural child, aged 34, and six adopted children aged from three to 24 years. She was born in Wabag, Enga Province, and spent the first five years of her life there. Her father was a policeman. The family then moved to Madang Province where she lived in and went to school in Bogia and then Madang town. She did her initial nursing training at the College of Allied Health Sciences in Port Moresby from 1975 to 1978. She worked briefly for a bank and in 1980 commenced her career as a nurse at Angoram Health Centre. She took up a nursing position at Modilon General Hospital in 1982. She held various senior nursing positions over the next 25 years, including Director of Nursing. In 2008 she was appointed acting CEO of the hospital for a short period. In 2010 she was substantively appointed to the position of CEO. She was recently reappointed. She has overseen a major restructure of the hospital during that period.

8. In the meantime she has obtained a Certificate in Paediatric Nursing (1984), a Diploma in Health Administration (1989), a Bachelor of Nursing degree (Queensland University of Technology, 1996), a Masters degree in Nursing (Monash University, 2003). She was instrumental in development of the Hospital Standards and Quality Improvement Program for Modilon General Hospital resulting in the Hospital achieving a 4-star rating.

9. Christine Gawi is a senior member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and is highly regarded in the Church. Glowing character references, attesting to her outstanding personal integrity and qualities and her high-calibre professional standards have been provided by Father Jan Czuba (Chairman, Board of Management, Modilon General Hospital); Sir Peter Barter (former member for Madang Provincial, former Minister for Health); Dr Vincent Atua (Director of Medical Services, Modilon General Hospital); Sister Mary Kehono (Deputy Director Nursing, Modilon General Hospital); Pastor Morris Mania (Madang Town Seventh-Day Adventist Church); Sister Therestia Kol (Catholic Health Manager, Archdiocese of Madang); Mr Jeremiah John Mark (Chief Pharmacist, Modilon General Hospital); Dr John Bolnga (Head of Maternity & Women’s Health Service, Modilon General Hospital); Dr Jimmy Aipit (Child Health Specialist, Modilon General Hospital); Sr Margaret Bariasi (In-service Training Co-ordinator, Modilon General Hospital); Mrs Maureen Hill (Member, Board of Management, Modilon General Hospital); and Fr Peter Hunter (Member, Board of Management, Modilon General Hospital).

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