A senior lawyer, Emmanuel Donigi, was sentenced to four years in prison for misappropriating K40, 000 from a client’s trust account. Despite the seriousness of the offense, the National Court suspended the entire sentence, placing him on probation for four years to allow for restitution. Donigi, employed with Ama Wali Lawyers and the Department of Mineral Policy and Geo-Hazards Management, was acting as a lawyer in a land transaction. He was responsible for drafting the contract of sale, which required a 10% deposit of K40, 000 from the purchaser. The funds were to be held in trust until the land transaction was completed. However, the vendor lacked the necessary title to finalize the sale. Despite this, Donigi withdrew the deposit within a week and used the money for personal purposes without the purchaser's consent. The breach of trust led to his conviction. National Court judge, Justice Laura Wawun-Kuvi, emphasized the gravity of Donigi's actions, calling it a serious breach of trust for a senior lawyer to misuse client funds held in a law firm’s trust account. “This was a serious case of dishonesty involving a lawyer and monies held in a law firm’s trust account,” the judge stated on Monday, September 9th at the National Court in Waigani. In her published decision, the judge said though the maximum penalty for such an offense is ten years, the court considered the possibility of rehabilitation and restitution, thus, suspending the four-year sentence under Section 19 of the Criminal Code, and placing the lawyer on a good behaviour bond for 12 months, with K500 surety. The offender has already repaid K10,000 and has promised to make full restitution once the land deal is completed. The court also placed Donigi on probation for four years under the Probation Act 1979, with conditions that include making restitution to the victim. Despite his apology, the court found Donigi’s remorse lacking, stating his apology appeared self-serving as he continued to discuss the land deal rather than genuinely addressing his wrongdoing. Donigi's misappropriation brings his legal career into question, as it not only affects public confidence but also tarnishes the reputation of his law firm. "The offender (Donigi) will of course be disbarred and will find it difficult to practice law again. This is of his own doing because he made the conscious decision to take money from the trust account," the court said. "His actions also bring his profession into disrepute. It affects public confidence as people trust lawyers and expect that they should be law abiding. Lawyers are entrusted with significant amounts of money." "His actions may affect the firm and its reputation. Possible clients may reconsider seeking legal assistance from a law firm that permits misappropriation of client monies held in trust." "Not only is the offence of misappropriation prevalent but this case involves both a high degree of dishonesty and breach of trust. The offender is a senior lawyer who used client monies held in a trust account. He continued to withdraw from it until nothing was left," the court said.