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By SHEILA LASIBORI
AN order issued by the NCD/Central police commander allegedly ended up
in the hands of an Australian accused of cheating an Australian
businessman of A$64,000 (about K153,000).
The accused, who is in his 50s and has been residing in PNG, then
delivered the order to the Boroko police, who were told not to
investigate a report lodged by the businessman.
Commander Alfred Reu admitted that he issued the order but explained
that he was not properly briefed on the complaint.
“There was some misunderstanding resulting in the memo being sent,” he
said when contacted by The National.
He also said that his staff officer failed to deliver the memorandum to
the right officers immediately and it ended up in “the wrong hands”.
In the memo, Mr Reu wrote that the case was a civil matter involving
Australians and should be dealt with in Australia.
Last Friday, police investigators were still in the dark on whether they
should proceed with the investigation or wait for further orders.
The businessman, who requested anonymity, described Mr Reu’s action as
“interference in what was a normal police process in investigating my
complaint”.
He said he arrived in Port Moresby on Aug 11 and lodged the report at
the Boroko police station.
“The police were planning to question the person last Wednesday but they
were then served with the memo,” he told The National.
He said he had given the A$64,000 to the man to buy alluvial gold at Mt
Kare in Enga last year and never heard from him after that.
The businessman returned to Victoria yesterday but indicated that he
would return to pursue the matter.
It is understood that the accused is facing criminal charges in the
Waigani court, one involving misappropriation and another involving
immigration laws.
 
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