Coroner appeals to public for info

National

By ELIZABETH VUVU
AN inquest into the four missing public servants and two boat crew who went missing at sea four years ago has urged people with any information on the incident to help police.
The four public servants and two crew members were returning from Pomio, East New Britain, on a banana boat in January 2013.
It was one of the three boats hired to transport government officers to Pomio for a budget review meeting. The six were the first to leave Pomio for Kokopo early on Jan 31, 2013, but never reached their destination.
Magistrate Bruce Tasikul, the coroner conducting the inquest, said five witnesses were called during a hearing in Buka to give evidence on a body which was found in 2013.
Tasikul said the body was exhumed at Nissan Island and samples taken for a post mortem and DNA test. Results of the tests will be produced by a doctor at the inquest later.
One of the five witnesses was the woman who discovered the body on Feb 14, 2013.
Two others had buried the body while a police officer had taken pictures of the body and compiled a report.
In Kokopo yesterday, three witnesses were called including a police officer and prisons officer.
So far, 44 witnesses from ENB and Buka have given evidence. The inquiry plans to call another six witnesses in ENB.