Pacific

Kiribati proposes death penalty

12:12 pm on 2 September 2014

The Kiribati parliament has passed the first reading of the amendment to the penal code to adopt the death penalty.

President Anote Tong says his country will have the opportunity to comment on the amendment during the consultation.

Mr Tong says the bill is a deterrent for deliberate killings in the country.

His comment comes after five women recently lost their lives at the hands of their husbands or former partners.

However, the opposition leader, Dr Tetaua Taitai, warns the government to be mindful of the implications of the death penalty because sometimes the courts may be wrong in their judgments.

Photo: RNZI Walter Zweifel