Court dismisses appeal to tranfer case to Kokopo

By ADRIAN MATHIAS
THE Waigani National Court yesterday dismissed an application by a state lawyer to transfer a case involving misappropriation charges against Esorom Daoni from Waigani to Kokopo.Daoni, a former public servant, is charged with misappropriating K12,892.12 from the national department of health in Port Moresby in 2010.A state lawyer said 10 of its witnesses were staff of the Queen Emma Hotel in East New Britain and asked the court to transfer the matter to Kokopo but Justice Penuel Mogish refused the application. Daoni’s lawyer told the court that, of the 10 state witnesses, only two were genuine and should be brought to Port Moresby for cross-examination.She said her client’s witnesses were residents of Port Moresby with only one witness from Madang who was already in Port Moresby.Mogish ruled that the matter had to proceed in the Waigani National Court in the National Capital District.Daoni had allegedly used the money to pay his bills at the Queen Emma Hotel when he was on holiday in Kokopo in 2010.He allegedly also used part of the money to hire a car for 21 days.Daoni, a medical doctor, was the national director for HIV and Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections at the time.