PNG man gets 50 years for burning wife to death

PNG man sentenced to 50 years prison for burning wife alive. 

A Papua New Guinean man who poured petrol on his wife and set her alight has been jailed for 50 years. The decision was handed down by  the National Court Justice Iova Geita  in Wewak, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea 

Justice Iova Geita jailed 40-year-old Genesis Simba of Nuigo in Wewak for killing his wife after a domestic argument at their home. The incident happened between 9pm and 10pm on Tuesday, December 16, 2008. The wife suffered 80 per cent burns to her body resulting in her death a day later at the Wewak General Hospital.

Geita handed down the sentence in a packed courtroom last Thursday for a crime he described as “most callous, heinous and painful”. Geita said a quick research on the online libraries available to him on the subject of willful murders brought about by petrol burns revealed no such recorded cases.

“There may be some around. However, none have been brought to my attention by both counsels.

“There were four recorded cases in the Judicial Commission of New South Wales database in Sydney. But all four cases referred to instances of arson on property and not on persons,” Geitasaid.

He said domestic violence appeared to be on the increase despite new laws such as the Family Protection Act 2013 coming into play. He said a long-term custodial sentence was warranted to deter men from committing such heinous crimes in future.

Geita rejected Simba’s plea for leniency and imposed the 50 year jail term with no remission in the first 10 years.

PNG Today / The National