A three man bench of the Supreme Court in Waigani this morning dismissed an application by convicted lawyer Paul Paraka for bail pending his appeal.
Justice Panuel Mogish delivered a unanimous decision on behalf of Justices Iova Geita and Peter Toliken.They found there were no exceptional circumstances and change of circumstances pleaded by Mr Paraka who is serving a jail term of 20 years for misappropriating K 160 million of state monies.
What is very interesting about Mr Paraka's case is that he began applying for bail as soon as he was convicted.
He has also filed an appeal and that is essentially his move in asking for bail.
Mr Paraka's argument has been that if there is an appeal, a convicted person can be allowed bail and courts have inherent powers to consider that.
His bail applications before the National Court and lately before Justice Susan Purdon-Sully have been refused.
The three man Supreme Court bench have now found Mr Paraka's case to be rare in PNG and in the Australian jurisdiction where a convicted prisoner can apply for bail.
In their published decision the bench held that while bail is a right for anyone, situations before conviction and after conviction are different and very much depends on showing exceptional circumstances.
The Supreme Court found there has not been much change regarding the circumstances as stated by Mr Paraka in his six affidavits filed between late 2023 and this year rendering his application an abuse of process.
Among his grounds Mr Paraka raised moving on from his earlier application before a single judge Purdon-Sully were on medical grounds. He has a heart condition that needs a stent operation.
Challenges to accessing medical services at Bomana prison, food and stress.
A new ground Mr Paraka raised before the three man Supreme Court bench was concerning the vote of no confidence.
The bench ruled convicted persons should not venture into political issues and they should not expect to receive special treatment.
The court had also considered that Mr Paraka had undergone a successful balloon stent operation for his heart.
The court says change of circumstances must be relevant and exceptional but Mr Paraka who was representing himself in court was attempting to take a second bite without providing convincing evidence.
Mr Paraka will continue serving his term in jail pending his appeal.
No comments:
Post a Comment