Condom in can of fish

Main Stories, National
Source:

Then National, Tuesday 11th September, 2012

By JAYNE SAFIHAO
MADANG police station commander Snr Insp Steven Kaipa gave evidence in the long-running “condom-in-a-can of fish” trial hearing yesterday.
His was one of the six cases of similar nature scheduled before the court for hearing this week.
In the negligence case on the part of Diana canned fish manufacturers, RD Tuna Canners, Kaipa and two others gave evidence on how they found a condom in the Diana canned tuna that was meant to be their dinner.
The other five cases being at the National Court before Justice David Cannings are Eddie Donatus and six others, John Mombi and seven others, Steven Bill and eight others, David Sengi and eight others and Michael Biru and six others.
In Kaipa’s case the court was told that on Feb 9, 2006, Kaipa and his wife bought can of fish.
They got home to cook vegetables and canned fish.
The anticipated meal was thrown out the door when the hysterical wife saw the content of the canned fish.
According to Kaipa’s affidavit, the condom was rolled and “still sitting on the fish content”.
The matter was reported to the police.
A health inspector and a pathologist were present to give evidence yesterday.
In the afternoon session, the lawyer representing RD Canners, Young Wadau of Young Wadau Lawyers, in an application asked for an inspection of the factory and to have an “experiment” conducted in which a condom would be put into a can at the factory line going through the normal process to see whether quality checks were in place.
Justice Cannings refused the application, saying: “I don’t see the necessity for it, particularly when no notice was given during the pre-trial and directions hearing.”
In the second case filed on Jan 26, 2007 Michael Biru gave evidence, describing how his family had eaten a meal that also had a condom inside, with Biru being the one to pull the condom out of his mouth.
Biru said his family of seven children and wife had all vomited, with one of the children hospitalised and two others receiving treatment.
The afternoon session was funny and confusing as questions posed in English were interpreted in tok pisin.
The pidgin word for “stretched” describing a cooked condom was tried out.
The trial continues this morning.