Accused officers told to attend interviews

By GIDEON KINDIWA
TWO police officers, who were arrested and charged with assaulting a boy, 13, in Kimbe, have had their bail extended and told to go for interviews to help investigations.
Waigani Committal Court magistrate Cosmas Bidar refused applications made by Chief Inspector Charles Winuan and Police Prosecutor Shellian Pius to revoke the bail that had been granted to the two accused.
“No reasonable grounds have shown whether this court will exercise its powers under Section 21 (2) (a) of the bail act,” Bidar said.
He refused the application, stating that the refusal also included refusal to transfer the proceedings to the district court in Kimbe.
The accused, George Sete and Konnie Kuk, were members of the Air Tactical Wing of the police force based at McGregor Barracks in Port Moresby.
It was alleged that Sete and Kuk were part of a team operating in Kimbe when they beat up the boy on July 28.
They were alleged to have stripped him naked, used a PVC pipe to beat him and also kicked him several times on his head, causing him to become unconscious.
The attack was recorded on video and posted on social media, fuelling criticism and comments from both national and international viewers.
The accused were arrested on Aug 20 and charged, with one count of assault occasioning bodily harm.
They were detained at the Boroko cell and granted bail after a few hours.
The first application was filed by Winuan on August 28 to seek orders from the court to revoke the defendants’ bail which was granted by police, and have their bail payment of K500 each refunded and the court proceedings be transferred to the district court in Kimbe.
The second application by Pius sought to have the court revoke the bail and refund the payment, however, it did not seek the court to transfer the proceedings to Kimbe.
One of the main reasons for filing the application was that the defendants were not turning up for their interviews (ROI) with the investigating officer.
Bidar refused both applications based on lack of reasonable grounds.
He said the “investigating officers along with the defendants were all members of the Royal Constabulary of Papua New Guinea, attached to different sections of the Police Department with different duty statements”.
He said each section had its chain of command and procedures to follow, and the investigating officers should have gone through the correct procedure as “there is no evidence to state that this has taken place.”
He said they should follow the chain of command and communicate with the commander in-charge of the defendants and arrange for their interviews rather than wait and expect the defendants to attend.
The court adjourned the case to January 11.