The story
Two adults in Nauru received fines of A$1,500 each, community service and one year’s probation in a one-gram cannabis case on 3 June 2024. A teenager received a A$200 fine and one month’s community service, with no conviction recorded. The magistrate considered a prison sentence disproportionate in the adults’ circumstances.[1]
Police found cannabis near the hospital
The agreed facts placed the three defendants on stairs behind the Republic of Nauru Hospital in April. Protective-services officers reported suspicious activity, and police found dried herbs in a paper roll and a cut soft-drink can. A police sergeant tested the material using the KN reagent system and reported a positive cannabis result.[1]
Nauru’s 2021 testing regulations had specified colour-change tests for identifying seized cannabis, together with officer appointments and certificates for court. The prosecution therefore linked the physical seizure to a police identification test.[1][2]
The 2022 bail restriction also barred bail for people charged under the drug-control law, putting defendants in custody before conviction.[3]
The court weighed a small quantity against a teenager’s involvement
Randy Doguape was the principal offender; Tagner Ratabwiy and the teenager were prosecuted for aiding and abetting his possession. All three pleaded guilty. The court placed the offending at the lowest end of seriousness because of the quantity, personal circumstances and culpability.[1]
The adults’ involvement with a juvenile weighed against them. The magistrate condemned encouraging or allowing a young person to smoke cannabis and used that circumstance to justify higher fines. He also considered guilty pleas, remorse, family support obligations and the teenager’s age.[1]
Community service and probation accompanied the fines
Doguape received four months’ community service and Ratabwiy three months. Their one-year probation periods would begin after the community-service orders ended. Both had convictions recorded and were ordered released from remand custody.[1]
The teenager, fourteen at the time of the incident and fifteen by sentencing, received one month’s community service. His parents had to enter a bond for payment of his fine. The court declined to record his conviction, applying the sentencing considerations for juveniles.[1]
For the adults, failing to pay within twenty-eight days would result in six months’ imprisonment. The sentence therefore combined financial penalties, supervised work and later probation, with custody remaining a consequence of non-payment.[1]
Parliament changed the sentencing options that December
The judgment described earlier cannabis-possession cases ending in fines, sometimes without recorded convictions. It balanced deterrence against proportionality and rehabilitation when choosing the sentence in this case.[1]
Six months later, the December 2024 amendment required twelve months to three years in custody for unlawful possession and excluded general alternative sentencing options.[4] The Nauru profile sets out those later rules alongside the longer penalties for cultivation, supply and use.[4]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Nauru here.
References
- District Court of Nauru — Republic v Randy Doguape and others, sentence of 3 June 2024Criminal Case 13/2024; paragraphs 9, 12–18, 33–39, 47–63; orders on pp. 15–18archived
- Nauru — Illicit Drugs Control Act 2004, Service 6 official consolidationAppended Drug Testing Kit Regulations 2021: amendment table; regulations 2–10, printed pp. 165,201 and 165,401–402archived
- Nauru — Bail Act 2018, Service 6 official consolidationSections 4A and 4B; amendment table through 20 August 2026archived
- Nauru — Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2024, certified 23 December 2024Sections 2, 5–9, 12 and 18archived
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.