Editorial; 27/8/08
“Customary compensation should not be used as an excuse to let a guilty person escape punishment.” In a series of comments published in The National yesterday, Judge Panuel Mogish made one of the strongest statements to date relating to compensation payments and the role of the nation’s law. The National has long held similar views and warned of the growing practice of using compensation payments as a substitute for the processes of the court. We recall cases where the victims of assault or rape have received nothing but a token gesture in compensation payments, while relatives have made a fortune from the process and the guilty party has managed to avoid a court hearing. Like so many other traditional customs, today’s compensation payments are too often simply a way of extorting money from the system.
See: http://www.thenational.com.pg/082708/lead_editorial.php
Tags: Culture, Human Rights, PNG