Court clears couple facing charges of deprivation of liberty, unlawful vehicle use

THE Mt Hagen committal court struck out charges of deprivation of liberty and unlawful use of a motor vehicle against a couple because of lack of evidence.
Magistrate Donald Joseph on Dec 23 freed the couple and ordered that information charging Max Kepowa and Merolyn Kepowa Boi Siwi be struck out.
The court also ordered their bail money be refunded.
Police alleged that on Feb 23 last year, the defendants took away Angela Taio Fair-Weather against her will at Warakum in Mt Hagen city.
The police alleged that Kepowa on Feb 23rd unlawfully used a white open-back Land Cruiser without the consent of the owner, Kutubu Transport limited.
Fair-Weather, who claimed that she was appointed by group operation manager Grace Lakawa to oversee the operation of Kutubu Transport depot in Mt Hagen, alleged that she was poked on her side and Siwi demanded her vehicle key.
She claimed that she was forced into the vehicle by Siwi, her son and three other men who then drove her towards Kagamuga Airport, then to Baiyer and had an accident. She claimed that at the accident site, she saw Kepowa driving the vehicle and taking them to Tinsely hospital.
Magistrate Joseph stated in his 7-page written judgment that Fair-Weather didn’t state that Siwi tried to use force to get her into the vehicle.
He said that there was no evidence of how she tried to make known to other employees and security guards that she was “forcefully taken against her will”.
“All she said was Siwi told her to quickly get into the vehicle, the strength of her evidence is insufficient to sustain the elements of section 355 (a) and (b) of the Criminal Code Act,” he said.
Magistrate Joseph said that Kepowa only drove the company vehicle at the request of his wife Siwi, who was the manager of the Mt Hagen branch of Kutubu Transport Ltd.
He said that Kepowa was never seen at the Kutubu Transport depot doing some actions in trying to take Fair-Weather against her will.
Magistrate Joseph said the police hand up brief was insufficient to send Kepowa and Siwi to trial.