Bid to stop police work fails

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BUSINESSMAN Jeffery Kennedy, who is charged with raping a minor in Australia, has failed in his bid to amend an originating summons to restrain the Australian Federal Police (AFP) from acting on any information and evidence obtained in Papua New Guinea.
Deputy Chief Justice Ambeng Kandakasi ruled that there were no laws allowing amendment to originating summons.
He also ordered Kennedy’s lawyer McRonald Nale, of Jema Lawyers, to pay costs of K500 for the motion.
Nale had sought to amend the terms of the orders he sought in the motion.
During the hearing of the originating summons, the defendants’ lawyer Greg Sheppard, of Young and Williams, filed an application to dismiss the proceedings on the ground that it was an abuse of court process
The defendants, Adam Chin Cheah, his mother Marilyn Espolong and owner of Rapid Response (RR) Alexis Tam Samuel Alaster are also the state witnesses in a pending criminal case against Kennedy in an Australian court.
Sheppard’s application was in response to the originating summons. Nale claimed that the AFP did not have the jurisdiction to collect and act on any evidence obtained in this country because the alleged incident occurred in Papua New Guinea.
Sheppard submitted that Kennedy failed to show a reasonable cause of action as to why declaratory orders he sought were his primary rights conferred by the law.
“The plaintiff (Kennedy) is not seeking declaratory orders against the defendants but he is also in itself interfering with key state witnesses in the current criminal charges against him,” Sheppard said.
“This is already a breach of critical bail conditions.”
Kennedy was arrested as a result of a criminal investigation by the AFP that was initiated in PNG on the basis of criminal complaints by Tam (third defendant) made to liaison officer of AFP in PNG, Julian Peter Bianco (fourth defendant).
Tam allegedly disseminated a voice-recorded conversation between Kennedy and first defendant Cheah to third parties without consent, which Nale argued was a breach of Protection of Private Communication Act.
Nale submitted that the voice inception recorded concerning Kennedy be surrendered to the PNG director of crimes and be permanently destroyed.
Kennedy is currently out on bail in Queensland, Australia, on one count of rape and one count of indecent treatment of children.
He was charged under Queensland’s criminal code Act.

2 comments

  • Laws are there to maintain justice for both the defendant and the complainant. It all depends on how you apply analytical skills in applying the right laws and authorities to help the court delive justice. Doesn’t matter you commit the offence or not which is beside the point

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