Health centre closes after break-in

By NICHOLAS SIREO
A HEALTH centre in Lae will be closed indefinitely following a break-in by thieves who ransacked the place early Monday morning.
Sister-in-charge of the Malahang health centre Daisy Basa deplored the criminal act and called for the arrest of those involved.
“It is uncalled for. We don’t know the motive behind this act of aggression,” she said.
She said it was the third time that the health centre, manned by only three officers catering for an area with about 37,000 people, had been broken into this year.
“In May, they made a failed attempt to steal solar panels. In August, they broke into my office and stole K2300,” she said.
“They broke in again on Monday and ransacked the health centre.”
Basa said despite the shortage of manpower, they managed to give their best to serve the people.
She suspects that the break-in could have been done by people who did not appreciate their services.
“We can’t handle this pressure anymore. The culprits must be handed over to police.
“The community must find those responsible so that the clinic can be opened again,” she said.
Lae law and order committee chairman Sam Oyaya was not aware of the incident but called on community leaders near Malahang to find the suspects.
“People who disrupt government services should be arrested and locked up by police,” he said.
“The community should not be held to ransom by their action.” Attempts to contact Lae police regarding the issue were unsuccessful.