- Man jailed for swearing at his father
- Officer to go on trial in June
Man jailed for swearing at his father
THE actions of an accused who damaged part of their house and swore at his father last year in Honiara are shameful and must be condemned, says Principal Magistrate Felix Hollison.
He made this benchmark remark on Monday when sending 30-year-old Tony Harry Ramosala to five months imprisonment.
This is for one count of domestic violence on which Ramosala pleaded guilty to at a previous court date.
“The frequency of domestic violence in the country is alarming and must be robustly curtailed and contained at all cost,” Hollison said.
He added that it is everyone’s responsibility to combat this attitudinal problem of domestic violence.
“It can destroy a family and in its worst form, permanent injury may occur both physically and psychologically, and also fatality.
“In this present case, the defendant directed the abuse and committed the violence against his own father and mother.
“The actions of the defendant and the words spoken during the commission of the offence on 22 July 2019 are shameful and must be condemned,” Hollison further added.
He said the Scripture says to, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”
“The defendant must learn to respect his own parents.
“Respect for others should be cultivated in our very own homes, and only on that basis it will enable a person to show respect for other members of the community, and more importantly to become a useful and law-abiding citizen of the country.”
Hollison reminded Ramosala that he is now in a stage where he should be able to take care of and protect his parents.
He said Ramosala is now 30 years old and should now reciprocate the care and love that his parents rendered to him since birth until he reached his adulthood.
Ramosala committed the offence after he arrived at their house at Zion area and demanded his mother to give him some money.
When her mother did not respond quickly Ramosala started to destroy the veranda of their house.
He also used abusive words to his father.
Hollison imposed a starting point of 12 months imprisonment but then had it reduced to five months to reflect Ramosala’s early guilty plea and his high chance of rehabilitation.
The sentence was ordered to be backdated to when Ramosala was first remanded in custody.
Public Solicitor’s lawyer Steven Weago represented Ramosala while Police Prosecutor Abel Maelanga is appearing for the Crown.
Officer to go on trial in June
A POLICE officer accused of stealing exhibits from the Seghe Police Station, Western Province, in 2016 will be standing trial in June.
David Ria will be standing trial for two counts of simple larceny.
His matter was brought to the Honiara Magistrates’ Court yesterday for an interim mention and was further adjourned to March 23 for another interim mention.
A trial will commence from July 13 through to July 17.
Ria was excused from attending court yesterday.
Both the prosecution and the defence had no issue to raise at the moment.
Ria, who is yet to be confirmed if he is still with the police force or had resigned, allegedly committed the two offences in 2016 at Seghe Police Station.
The prosecution alleged he stole four cartons of SB beers, 12 cans of Sara lager beer and $2,000 that were kept at Seghe Police Station as exhibits.
Police confiscated those items from a woman facing a charge under the Liquor Act and kept them as exhibits at the station.
The woman’s case was later reportedly dismissed.
Following the dismissal of her case, she went to collect her confiscated properties but had discovered that they have gone missing.
She then reported the matter to the police which resulted in the arrest of the accused.
Public Solicitor’s lawyer Rodney Manebosa represents Ria while Public Prosecutor Francisca Angilio Luza is appearing for the Crown.
It was not yet confirmed if Ria is still a police officer on suspension or had since resigned.
