Four year sentence for Fraudster

A man who was previously convicted for stealing in 2005 and given a suspended sentence will not escape custodial sentence this time.

Addi Ewana Kekea, also known as Junior Aiwana Vali of Alukuni village, Hula, Central province was sentenced by the Waigani National Court to four years in prison on Friday for obtaining monies totaling K20,500 by false pretense on four different occasions.

The 49 year old pleaded guilty before the court to obtaining the monies from four different individuals last year.

Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika sentenced him on Friday to four years in prison at Bomana. That sentence term will be suspended on the condition he repays the monies he stole.

Prior to his sentence and during submissions on sentence, Kekea asked the court to give him 12 months to repay the K20,500 by selling fish.

The court decided otherwise because he was on bail yet failed to make any efforts to repay the monies to the four individuals.

“For whatever reason you don’t want to look for work and catch fish instead. This behavior of tricking people has to stop. 

“You were sentenced to jail in 2005 for stealing. You need to learn from this (second case).

“Last time in 2005 you were given suspended sentence and now the court decided you should go and learn some good lesson,” Sir Gibbs told him in court.

Sir Gibbs said the custodial sentence would make his family members catch the fish and sell to make money to repay those monies.

Kekea is highly educated. He has a double masters according to the court and Sir Gibbs said he could not understand how such person could go around asking people on the street for money.

He was found guilty to fraudulently obtaining monies in the month of April 2016 from four different individuals at the Four mile Works Compound.

He fraudulently used cars to obtain laptops and money by presenting a fraudulent ANZ Bank cheque of K5 million under his name to James and Maria Kimin, Sophy Paul and Yuan Kui.

Kekea lured James Kimin and received K4,800 and told him to obtain quotes for two 25 seater coaster bus which he (Kekea) promised to pay for James Kinim after the cheque is cleared.

Kekea also convinced Maria Kinim and received a sum of K2, 500 from her and promised her hotel luxury with huge interest for her money.

He also went to Paul and obtained K5 590 and latter approached Kui with the same cheque and obtained K6 700 and promised to repay them with high interests.

Kekea also obtained from other complaints laptops in disguise to do consultation works then in mid May, 2016.

He called James and Maria Kinim, Paul and Kui and gave them signed undated cheques with large sums of money each.

After Kekea gave out the cheques he allegedly asked them to hold onto the cheques until his K5 million cheque was cleared and since then he went into hiding until he was arrested in Sept 2016.

 

 

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Sally Pokiton