Elderly woman's assault case struck out

An elderly woman was arrested and charged for assaulting a man.

Alice Gepi from Tari-Pori electorate of Hela Province was charged for assault occasioning bodily harm, under s. 340 of the Criminal Code Act.

Police alleged that the defendant’s husband was in a fight with two complainants.

According to court documents, on the 28th of July, the complainants subsequently picked another fight when they arrived with three other relatives at the defendant’s house at Talai Settlement, Port Moresby.

Whilst one of the victims was trying to stop the fight, the defendant thought the victim was fighting with her husband and picked up a piece of timber, hitting the victim/complainant on his face; injuring his nose and eyes.

The matter was registered at Downtown Police Station where the defendant and her husband were detained. Upon brief interrogation, the defendant admitted to causing injuries to the victim/complainant.

The defendant appeared for court yesterday (Nov 27th) and the matter was struck out due to the defendant being in custody for three months without an interview by the police.

The matter was withdrawn and bail will be refunded.    

(Article by Jasmine Iru – third year UPNG Journalism student)

Author: 
Jasmine Iru