Copyright dailypost
A 30-year-old man from Erromango has been sentenced to 3-years in prison for an assault at Metro Nightclub in the early morning of October 3 last year. The victim was taken home and later died. The defendant, Philip Naupa, punched and hit the deceased twice during an argument outside the club, knocking him to the ground before fleeing the scene. The Supreme Court heard that the deceased and some of his friends went to Club Lite and then later drove to Metro Nightclub at Freswota around 3am. There was a small encounter with one of the security guards preventing one of his friends from entering the club. Later on, an argument started outside the club involving one of the deceased’s female friends and a security guard. Naupa and some other men from Erromango joined the argument, and Naupa punched assaulted the deceased. The deceased’s friends took him home and left him on the front porch. Later that day, he was declared dead. Naupa pleaded guilty to a charge of intentional assault resulting in the victim’s death. His lawyer, Andrew Bal, proposed a starting point of five years’ imprisonment, but Judge Dudley Aru set it at 6 years. Naupa is entitled to his sentence discount by 33% due to his early guilty plea. His sentence was reduced again by 7 months due to personal reasons, such as being a first-time offender and a supportive community member. The defendant graduated from USP with a certificate in Business and Financial Management in 2023, and again in 2024 obtaining a Diploma in Project Management. His job involves supervising construction workers, designing roads and houses and also skilled in surveying and costing projects for clients. Naupa has performed a custom reconciliation to the deceased’s family on August this year witnessed by members of the Probation Services. He compensation including a piece of land valued at VT2million, two cows (VT80,000 each), one pig (VT70,000), 16 mats (VT32,000), local food (VT34,000), nine traditional mats (VT18,000), manioc (VT25,000), calico (VT15,000). His sentenced was further reduced by 5 months due to performing the custom reconciliation. Judge Aru sentenced him to an end sentence of 3 years’ imprisonment. “A custodial sentence is warranted as taking someone’s life is a very serious matter. Suspending the sentence would send the wrong message to the community at large,” he stated in the verdict dated October 24, last week. The judge ordered Napua to present himself to the Correctional Centre in Port Vila to begin his sentence by no later than November 7, 2025. "The Correctional Centre Manager shall inform the Court if you fail to deliver yourself to the Correctional Centre as directed," stated Judge Aru. Napua was also given 14 days to appeal the sentence.
