NU registers 37 defilement cases
Alcohol, regarded by most Ntcheu men as the main form of entertainment, is fast becoming a major source of trouble.
Between January and November this year, police have registered 37 reported cases of defilement as compared to 32 during the same period last year, primarily linked to alcohol.
“Most men here are addicted to beer such that whenever they get intoxicated they pounce on little girls,” Ntcheu Police Station deputy spokesperson Hastings Chigalu said on Tuesday.
Today, more than 30 men are serving different jail terms after being found guilty of defilement. Some admitted to defiling their own daughters under the influence of alcohol.
The latest incident occurred on December 1 2015 when 36-year-old Sipac Pheletu of Hauya Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Ganya in the district defiled his 14-year-old step daughter.
Said Chigalu: “On that day, Pheletu returned from a drinking joint and asked for sexual intercourse from his wife but she excused herself because she was menstruating.
“After sometime, he sneaked to the daughter’s bedroom where he defiled her. However, his wife caught him in the act after she noticed he was missing.”
Pheletu was found guilty of defilement contrary to Section 138 of the Penal Code and has since been sentenced to 11 years imprisonment with hard labour (IHL) by Ntcheu first grade magistrate Jones Masula. n
