Arrest ex-clerk, court tells police

 ON Friday, a National Court jailed two former staff members of Parliament for fraud involving K150,000.

They were convicted in November last year.

In his defence, former chief financial officer Charles Aopi claimed that he received only K5000 while the rest was taken by a former clerk of parliament, Don Pandan, whose term expired on Sept 12, 2012.

In passing sentence, Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika urged the police to arrest Pandan, adding that Aopi had volunteered to be a State witness.

He said there was no evidence to show how the K150,000 was used.

He said while restitution had been offered by Aopi and former travel clerk Lepsen Newe, neither one had paid anything.

“For the moment, only the two prisoners were charged and now convicted.

“Don Pandan will need to be arrested and charged as well to ascertain how the money was used,” he said in a 16-page judgment.

On Monday, Pandan issued a statement to deny involvement in the fraud.

He said he was no longer the clerk of parliament when the theft “allegedly took place”.

He said the report was “detrimental and damaging to me as a person and as the former clerk of parliament. 

“I cannot understand why my name was allowed to be mentioned in court when I was not a party to the court proceedings nor was I a subject of the police investigations,” Pandan said.