A court in Papua New Guinea has ordered a man to compensate his mother for swearing at her, and warned he will go to jail if he does not pay up.

The district court in Lae heard Clarence Lote swore at his mother Esther last week after she told him to stop swearing at his wife.

After unloading a string of expletives, Lote told his mother it was her fault for giving birth to him.

Esther was so outraged she complained to police, who arrested Lote and charged him with the summary offence of swearing.

A magistrate ordered he pay his mother $230 in compensation and warned he would be thrown in jail for six months if he did not.