By DENNIS ORERE and NIDRA KEREWE MAPI
PEOPLE who resort to graffiti have a mental problem and the authorities need to seriously look into it, the Health Department’s chief psychiatrist said.
Dr Goiba Tienang said youths who gambled, pick-pocketed, treated animals cruelly, ran away from home, painted graffiti and so on possessed “behaviour and conduct disorder”.
He noted that graffiti was prevalent in PNG, especially in the urban areas, and it was evidence of a troubled society.
“It is sign of trouble minds or unstable families,” he said.
“We need to do more in dealing with graffiti as it has brought about bigger problems for innocent citizens.”
Dr Tienang said mental health was given low priority and he hoped the Government would allocate more funding and resources to deal with the problem.
Last week, Justice Minister Dr Allan Marat said he would propose a new Act to provide for stronger action against people who damaged public property, including graffiti.
He indicated that offenders might be sent directly to prison rather than be tried in court “to save time and resources”.
He added that many laws were in place but they were not being enforced.
A medical health extension officer at the Laloki Hospital said people who were prone to graffiti “want to be superior and to advertise themselves to the public”.
Malou Magaru, who agreed with Dr Marat’s view on the punishment, said these people were also likely to be frustrated over the lack of proper Government services.
He urged each community to deal with the problem of graffiti themselves, instead of waiting for others.
A parent, whose son admitted to drawing graffiti, said such acts of vandalism were mostly done by schoolchildren due to peer pressure.
He said they would carry out their activities usually between 2am and 6am and often, would be under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
“Most of the kids involved are part of generation groups who want to pass on their names from seniors to their juniors and this usually involves different kinds of testing to see whether they will be accepted into the group,” he told The National.
“Children in primary schools are also being targeted. It is a serious problem and parents should take heed of where their children go at night.”