CONVICTED MP BEGS FOR LENIENCY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Potape also asked the court for a non-custodial sentence saying he has been recently diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) which sometimes causes heart attack. He said a custodial sentence could affect his health. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Cedric Patjole, Dec 1, 2014. PNG Loop Convicted Komo-Magarima MP Francis Potape has pleaded with the court for leniency and a non-jail sentence. Potape made the submissions in a packed court room at Waigani today. He was found guilty on Oct 16th 2014 for dishonestly applying to his own use and the Komo-Magarima Joint District Planning & Budgetary Priorities (JDPBPC) Committee – K330, 000, of which he received K60, 000. He also told the court, presided over by Deputy Chief Justice Gibbs Salika that he has restituted the full amount of K330,000 into the Registrar’s Trust Account, and that the State has not suffered any loss. Potape also asked the court for a non-custodial sentence saying he has been recently diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) which sometimes causes heart attack. He said a custodial sentence could affect his health. In his submissions, Potape said that the decision to allocate himself and the JDPBPC the money as refunds was a collective decision. He said this was done based on poor advice from public servants in his area who are trained by their departments and should have informed him well. Potape said he had a family of nine children, the eldest of whom was 14 and the youngest four months old, who needed him to provide for them. Also, his wife was unemployed. Submissions will be made by his defence counsel while the state prosecution will also be submitting a proposed form of punishment to the court. - See more at: pngloop/2014/12/01/convicted-mp-begs-leniency/#sthash.WpEq5WXS.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 08:54:01 +0000
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