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Ketner v Republic [1978] NRSC 8; [1969-1982] NLR (D) 67 (19 May 1978)

[1969-1982] NLR (D) 67

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NAURU

Criminal Appeal No. 21 of 1978

KAMSI KETNER

v

THE REPUBLIC

19th May, 1978.

Sentence - speeding - improper to take into account facts relevant to another offence not charged.

Appeal against a sentence of three months' imprisonment for speeding. The magistrate appeared to have imposed that sentence because the speeding constituted dangerous or reckless driving.

Held: It is not proper to impose for a minor offence a sentence appropriate to a more serious offence which may have been committed in committing the minor offence but which has not been charged.

Appeal allowed; sentence set aside and a fine of $30 imposed in its stead.

G. Star for the appellant
D. Gioura for the respondent

Thompson CJ.:

The sentence for driving while disqualified was proper and not harsh or excessive. The fact that the appellant is a foreman in Nauruan Housing does not justify his driving while disqualified; he must use vehicles driven by others until his period of disqualification ends.

The sentence for speeding appears to have been imposed not for the speeding but for the dangerous manner in which the appellant was alleged to have driven. If he had been charged with and convicted of the offence of dangerous driving or reckless driving, it might have been an appropriate sentence. But the appellant has no previous convictions for speeding and only one of his previous convictions relates to the manner of his driving.

The appeal is dismissed in respect of the first count. It is allowed in respect of the second count; the sentence imposed on that count is set aside and a fine of $30 is imposed on the appellant in its place.