Arrest warrant for NID officer

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
THE Waigani District Court has issued an arrest warrant for an officer of the PNG Civil Identity and Registry Office (PNG CIRO) for allegedly misusing a Chinese bank loan of about K258,000.Senior Magistrate Tracy Ganaii issued the warrant after the officer had evaded police arrest since last Sept 7.
The officer is wanted by police for allegedly misusing a total of K258,282 to compensate an officer who died while conducting mobile registration. This is part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of misappropriation of the national identification (NID) project funds and that had already implicated former senior officers engaged with NID project and the Department of Community Development, Youth and Religion. Magistrate Ganaii said issuing the warrant was necessary as the officer had been in a position of trust and had abused his position and he needed to answer for his crime.
She said this would also set a standard in terms of bringing corrupt officers to justice. According to police reports, the officer is also being investigated for his alleged involvement in a syndicate within the NID project office to divert funds from the project to companies linked with NID project officers.