PAPUA NEW GUINEA MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR CHILD MURDER

the National Court in Buka, Papua New Guinea, sentenced a Bougainvillean to death. Justice Mark Sevua made the ruling on Sohano Island after finding Clarence Tema Mongi of Lonahan Village, Buka Island, guilty of wilful murder and rape of a seven year old girl in 2004. The ruling, the first of its kind in Bougainville after the crisis, took many people in the island region by surprise. The court heard that on 15 July 2004 Selina Kuhil, then aged seven years, had gone to the bush to collect galip nuts. At the time the accused, while under the influence of marijuana, grabbed her and dragged her towards a cliff. Mongi then punched the girl on her head, resulting in a concussion. The court was told that he became angry and twisted the girl's neck, killing her instantly. The court heard that after killing her, the accused tried having sex with the victim. Mongi later carried the girl's dead body to a small cave where he hid her. The body was recovered in the evening following a search. Justice Sevua described the case as the worst type of killing that necessitated the imposition of the death penalty. There is a de facto moratorium on carrying out the death penalty in PNG. The penalty was abolished for murder in 1970, but reintroduced in 1991, although the last execution was carried out in 1954.