Madang’s Het Wara gang members jailed with hard labour

The National Court in Madang has sentenced four members of the infamous Het Wara gang from the Raikos District to jail with hard labour over the wilful murder of a 14-year-old girl in 2023.

Three of them were given 30 years each whilst the fourth, an elderly man in his 50s, was given 20 years due to his age range.

The four are 20yo Yaprum Alumbo, Bori Moipe Mamat [30], Esake Alumbo [40] and Albert Bawap [50s]. All are from Yopbo Village in the Naiyudo Local Level Government area of the Raikos District.

The four men stood trial at the National Court for one count each of wilful murder, which contravened Section 299 (1) of the Criminal Code Act. The State also invoked Section 7 (1) (a), (b), and (c), and Section 8 of the Criminal Code in prosecuting the case because it was alleged that the killing involved each of them acting together as a group.

The Court heard that the killing occurred in the afternoon of May 23, 2023, when the four men and others surrounded and attacked the family of the deceased Judith Anikap in their house.

The men attacked the father of the family with bush knives and other weapons. Upon seeing what was happening to their father, the mother Mapua and her children Julie and Rumepe including the deceased fled into the bushes in fear of their lives.

However, the four men and others chased the children and caught up with Judith, whom they repeatedly raped, and slashed her forehead, scalp and head. They then cramped her legs into one side of her trousers and dumped her body off a cliff and fled from the scene.

Her body was later retrieved by her parents and buried.

The State’s submission on sentencing had asked the Court that the maximum penalty of life imprisonment or the maximum available sentence be imposed on the four for what State lawyers described as tragic, senseless and entirely avoidable actions.

The State submitted that the Court must impose a sentence that properly reflects the gravity of the offence, punishes the offenders, deters others from similar offences and maintains public confidence in the administration of justice.

The offenders have shown no remorse for their actions.

The Court, however, when handing down its ruling yesterday used its discretion and imposed thirty years each on three of the offenders and twenty years on the older perpetrator.

Justice Joseph Yagi reminded the four men they have committed a very serious crime.

“You acted as a group. You were all around and all of you were involved in the killing. She was unharmed, defenceless and vulnerable," he said. "You not only killed her but you raped her too and the Court finds this to be very serious. You pleaded not guilty but the Court relied on statements from State witnesses which were credible."

Meanwhile, the court also ordered that the pre-sentence custody period for each prisoner will be deducted from the head sentence, and each prisoner is to serve the balance of their sentence.

All the prisoners were apprehended and detained since 14 September, 2023. The calculated pre-sentence custody for each prisoner as of yesterday was 2 years, 9 months and 3 days.

The prisoners will serve out their terms at Beon Correctional Institution.