Court cautions officer to comply with orders

A SENIOR officer with the Papua New Guinea Defence Force engineering battalion at Igam, Lae, has been cautioned by Lae District Court to comply with its orders.
Appearing before Magistrate Tera Dawai last Friday, Woki Onum, 30, from Gabnal village, Minj, Jiwaka, was told by the court that it was his responsibility to report to court.
“All of us, regardless of position or title are subjected to the laws of this country and no one is above that,” Magistrate Dawai told Onum.
He said being a person of high rank in the disciplined force and failing to comply with court orders was not right.
The police prosecution made an application last Friday to set aside the K500 bail and have Onum detained at Buimo Prison and attend his court dates after alleging that Onum had defied police arrest after a warrant was issued on Aug 28.
The prosecution told the court that Onum had made it very difficult for the arresting officer and he (Onum) should have filed a notice of motion earlier.
Onum told the court that he had been on duty travel and this had caused him to miss his court dates.
He said his lawyer was out of town and needed time to discuss his case with the public solicitor.
Magistrate Dawai dismissed the prosecution’s application on the grounds that the arresting officer could not prove with evidence that Omun was trying to avoid arrests.
The warrant of arrest was revoked.
Magistrate Dawai, however, told Omun that if he failed to appear before the court again, his bail would be revoked.
He adjourned the case to Dec 11 for mention in the Committal Court.