PNG magistrate denies lashing sentence
Updated
A Papua New Guinea magistrate has denied he sentenced a wife abuser to 20 lashes of the cane.
The victim in the case allegedly struck a deal with the prosecutor to cane her husband on the bare bottom in public.
But Western Provice magistrate Patrick Monouluk told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat he only sentenced the husband to six months' hard labour.
"I guess it's really because of the nature of the offence. He actually used a knife to slash the wife on the back of her head and kicked and punched her while she was holding onto their newborn baby. So I actually sentenced him to six months (in jail)."
