BY JENNIFER KUSAPA
A man who confessed to stealing $107 from a victim who tried to help him change his bad attitudes has been sentenced to two years six months.
Michael Meke Wanman was convicted by the court in 2018 for stealing in a dwelling house. He was again sentenced by court on 30th November 2022 for stealing money and stealing a laptop belonging to the Solomon Islands chamber of commerce.
Principal Magistrate Fatimah Taeburi said the prisoner is not a first-time offender. He has previous convictions; he was convicted in 2018 in the High Court for one count of rape and one count of house break-in.
She said his previous conviction on house break-in is similar in nature to the current case, his previous conviction is therefore relevant.
Wanman stole $107 from the complainant when the complainant was trying to help him to convert from his bad habits of stealing. The facts showed that the complainant took the prisoner to a pastor’s house. The idea was for the prisoner to confess his bad habits to the pastor so that the pastor would pray for him. It was during the process that he stole the money from the complainant.
On another incident he also pleaded guilty to stealing a laptop from the Solomon Islands Government.
Prosecution in their submission said that he must have planned out how to steal the laptop because he chose a time when the officer left her desk. From the facts, it appears that he entered the office and took the laptop in broad daylight. He was able to steal in a public office in broad daylight, undetected by other staff. It shows that he is a very skillful thief, he was only caught by a CCTV video footage.
Ms Taeburi after considering the facts and taking into account the circumstances of the case imposed a custodial sentence.
She said it is inevitable that the prisoner has not learnt the lesson that stealing is a crime.
“This court has a duty to impose a sentence that will teach him specifically that is wrong to steal. He must learn by facing the consequences of the crimes that he commits. This court also has a duty to deter crime and to protect the society from thieves and other criminals,” Taeburi said.
Police Prosecutor Abel Maelanga prosecutes the case in court While Delilah Kukura of the Public Solicitor’s Office is representing the defendant.
