5800 on ‘wanted’ list

By JIMMY KALEBE
AROUND 5800 bench warrants issued by the courts, mostly relating to criminal cases between 1983 and 2018, remain outstanding, says Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia.
He told a three-day national law and order summit in Lae yesterday that the 5801 people sought by the courts posed “unimaginable” risks to the public.
“The risks these people on bench warrants have in the community is unimaginable. They need to face justice,” he said. He urged the people to assist the police in identifying these “wanted” people.
“The solution to addressing these bench warrants is to have the community involved to make sure these people are brought to justice,” he said.
He said 60 percent of the outstanding bench warrants related to pending criminal cases.
Sir Salamo suggested that one way to expose the 5801 “wanted” people was to have their names and details published in the media so that everyone knew who they were.
He also told the summit that the justice sector was building court houses within the prison precincts as a way to reduce jail breaks.
Bomana prison in Port Moresby and Buimo in Lae already have court houses. Talks are underway to build others in prisons around the country.
Sir Salamo said while it would not totally stop jail breaks, it at least would reduce them.