Civil servant in K115,000 case

National

A SENIOR public servant in East New Britain has been charged with stealing a government vehicle worth K115,000.
Provincial police commander Senior Inspector Joseph Tabali said yesterday that the suspect, Jeffrey Tokunai, 40 and from Malaguna One in Rabaul, was charged on Monday with three counts – stealing by false pretence, abuse of office and conspiracy to defraud the East New Britain government.
Tabali said Tokunai, being the property manager for the provincial administration under the finance division, allegedly used his position to fraudulently acquire the  vehicle for his personal use last December.
The suspect allegedly conspired with a salesman at Boroko Motors, Kokopo branch, without the approval of the provincial administration.
“The suspect allegedly stole the D40 Nissan Navara black vehicle, plate number PAH 172, took it to his residence in Rabaul and on several occasions, used it for his personal benefit. When investigations commenced into the missing vehicle, the suspect allegedly took it back to the provincial car pool,” Tabali said.
The vehicle costs K114,885.16 and the police commander said Tokunai was refused police bail over the allegations.
Tabali said investigations would continue and it was likely the salesman and officers at the provincial treasury and finance officers would be questioned.
Tabali was concerned that officers at the provincial treasury and finance did not report the matter quickly to police, saying police would be cracking down on white collar crimes in the province.