Committal court strikes out lawyer’s case

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Friday 14th of February, 2014

By JENNIFER NKUI
A LAWYER charged with false pretence had his case struck out yesterday due to insufficient evidence.
Rickson Pokea, of Pokea Lawyers, appeared before the Waigani Committal Court for ruling.
The 35-year-old from Yanguri village, Kagua-Ereva, in Southern Highlands, had his case struck out.
When handing down the ruling, magistrate Pinsson Pindipia said the complainant, Anna Agema Maisam, had been given the total amount of money that was allegedly taken from her.
“There is no need for the complainant (Maisam) to go back to the police to pursue the case and there is insufficient evidence surrounding the matter,” he said.
According to police reports, on Nov 20, 2012, Pokea removed a sum of K172,000 from the National Court Trust Account when acting for and on behalf of his client, Maisam.
The money, which belongs to Handry Maisam, the complainant’s husband, was to be used to engage Pokea to defend her in court.
It was alleged that Pokea however acted on his own accord and used his legal powers to take the money out of the account and deposit it for his own use.
It was further alleged that Pokea took the money as his legal bill for acting for Maisam for a two-month period.
According to Maisam, Pokea should not be paid that sum as legal bills.