Foreign manager jailed for 8 months after striking head of local with iron rod

An Asian manager has been jailed for eight months after he was found guilty of striking the head of a local with an iron-rod.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Ricky Iomea convicted Leu Liang Han on one count of unlawful wounding contrary to section 229 of the penal code when he used an iron rod to hit the head of the complainant twice, which landed him in hospital.

According to court documents, the accused who is an assist manager at Samilsan was drunk at that time— had an argument and fought with the complainant, a local, earlier on at the Samlinsan Compound at Lunga on the same day of the incident. The two had to be separated by the securities of the company and when the complainant was making his way out of the compound, the accused swore at him.

The court was told that the accused was still angry when he and Lau (his boss) approached the complainant at a market stall along the Lunga road, not far from the Samilsan compound, Han then went out of the hilux vehicle and struck the head of the complainant with an iron rod. As a result the complainant had sustained wounds to his head and he was taken to the National Referral Hospital where the wounds were cleaned and bandaged.

Magistrate Iomea in his ruling said the offending was aggravated by the fact that an iron rod was used as a weapon to assault the complainant more than once on the head, resulting in injuries to the head.

“The accused could not control his temper and violently attacked the complainant who was unarmed and posed no danger to accused or his boss Lau,” he said.

Iomea said the fact that the complainant was drunk and caused disturbance at the compound cannot be seen as justifying the action by the accused, whilst that may provocative, the accused should have controlled his temper and wait for law enforcement officers to deal with him.

He said he also take into account that the Han had already paid $2,000 and shell money to the complainant and his parents which now restored peace.

The magistrate in considering that and other mitigating factors sentenced Han to eight months in prison as of last Friday.

“This sentence will not only serve as a punishment but also a general deterrence,” he said.

News@SBMOnline2020