|
AN expatriate woman backpacking in
Bougainville has fled the island after being caught up in a dispute that
ended in the bashing death of a deranged man falsely claiming to be her
husband.
The 51-year-old, from North America, was at the village of Sirovai on
the island’s east coast on Tuesday ready to take a boat to the Solomon
Islands when the incident happened.
She had met village resident Robert Isaiah while travelling down from
Buka.
Constable Sheena Cook said Isaiah, in his fifties and married to a
Sirovai woman, followed the woman and entered into a heated argument
with the villagers, insisting that the visitor should not leave.
He shouted out that the woman was his second wife and he used a fishing
spear to stab and wound the boat’s skipper, who was his nephew.
In retaliation, villagers bashed Isaiah and he died on the spot.
“He died of internal injuries, he was bashed up pretty badly,” Constable
Cook said.
She added that Isaiah was reportedly a bit hyperactive and unstable.
After flying in Port Moresby yesterday, the woman said she was shocked
by the killing.
She received bruises on her back after being hit when “everything was
out of control” and said her attempt to move Isaiah to safety failed.
“It was very frightening because at the time the people wanted to take
it out on him,” she said.
“I think they were all fed up with the problems they had with that man,
who was a mental case.”
She was escorted from the village by police who interviewed her and then
escorted her to Buka.
The wounded skipper was in a stable condition yesterday at the Buka
General hospital.
Constable Cook said police were investigating the incident and expected
to make arrests.
She was also surprised that the woman was travelling alone in
Bougainville.
The expatriate woman said she had taken time off from work to travel the
world but now would not go to the Solomon Islands, opting instead to
return to her country.
 
|
