Police close shop after Myanmar man escapes

National

A joint government team shut down a Chinese-owned shop in Port Moresby after a Myanmar man employed in his store escaped last week.
The Myanmar man, believed to be an illegal immigrant, escaped from the team when he was asked to produce his passport and work permit.
But he told the team that his documents were with his boss in the office. So they told him to go and wait in the boss’ office.
When seeing that he was left unattended, the man pretended to go into his boss office but escaped into one of the secret rooms.
The team searched for him but was unsuccessfully.
They then searched for the owner and found a pistol in his office.
The owner claimed that the pistol was given to him by a former member of the disciplinary forces who was his friend.
He claimed the  friend had a firearm licence.
The government team then ordered the store to be shut and took the owner into custody for allegedly employing an illegal immigrant and for being in possession of an unlicensed firearm.
The boss was also told to bring his Myanmar staff to the Immigration Office or else he (boss) will be deported immediately.
Meanwhile, local staff employed in that store said that they were surprised when they saw an increase in their fortnight pay on Wednesday from K220 to K350.
“We were surprised to see our pay had increased to the minimum wage of K3.50 per hour without notice,” the worker said.
“All of us   have been working for six months now and we were paid K220 per fortnight. And our fortnight falls on Wednesdays. We always ask for pay increase but they never do that.
“Instead, our boss tells us to leave if we are not happy. But when this spot-check stories appeared in The National last week, we told our bosses that the team will soon come here.
“That’s when we noticed an increase in our fortnight pay yesterday (Wednesday).”
Meanwhile, BPNG Governor Loi Bakani has issued a statement saying that all employer employing 15 or more employees must pay superannuation.