A World Cup cricketer has been jailed for three years after following a woman and stealing her phone in an attempt to help pay off a £1,000 loan.
Papua New Guinea international Kipling Doriga pleaded guilty to one charge of robbery in the Royal Court yesterday.
The court heard he had decided to pursue his victim after seeing her leaving a nightclub and putting a mobile phone in her handbag.
The 30-year-old had been in Jersey to compete for his country in the International Cricket Council Challenge League, a global tournament which forms part of the qualification process for the 2027 Cricket World Cup.
Having been held in custody since the incident on Monday 25 August, Doriga is now set to serve the remainder of his sentence at HMP La Moye before being deported.
Crown Advocate Emma Hollywood, prosecuting, explained that the victim had been walking home at around 2am after a night out, when she became aware that someone was following her.
Her pursuer, later identified as Doriga, caught up with her in Hilary Street. She screamed at him to leave her alone and slapped him.
Doriga responded by striking her twice, with the second blow knocking her to the ground, before grabbing her handbag and fleeing.
Her bag was later found nearby without her mobile phone.
Using a tracking app, the victim traced the device to the hotel where the Papua New Guinea team were staying.
Police attended and arrested Doriga, who admitted he had been drunk and decided to steal the phone to sell it and put money towards a £1,000 debt.
He estimated he could have made around £400 from the sale.
The court has a duty to ensure the streets of St Helier are safe and to signal that this sort of offending will not be tolerated
the Bailiff, Robert MacRae
In a statement read to the court, the victim said the assault had left her traumatised, experiencing flashbacks, panic attacks and ongoing pain.
“I have lost my sense of safety in the very community where I grew up,” she said. “It’s something that I will carry with me long after the physical bruises fade.”
Advocate Julia-Anne Dix, defending, said Doriga lived an “extremely basic” life and supported his family on a £285 monthly cricket salary.
She said he felt deep shame, knowing the incident would cost him his sporting career, and accepted the harm he caused.
The assault, she added, was inexcusable and completely out of character.
Presiding over the sentencing hearing, the Bailiff, Robert MacRae, said the case was so serious that custody was the only justifiable outcome.
“You targeted a lone woman, followed her and when you felt it was safe for you to do so you attacked her and stole her phone,” he said.
“The court has a duty to ensure the streets of St Helier are safe and to signal that this sort of offending will not be tolerated.”
Mr MacRae, who was presiding with Jurats Opfermann and Gardener, said the court was jailing Doriga for three years and recommended that he be deported from the Island after completing his sentence.
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