Court frees students of charge

By GIDEON KINDIWA
FOUR university students charged with attempted murder were freed by the Waigani Committal Court on Tuesday for lack of evidence.
In discharging the students, magistrate Cosmas Bidar said: “It is one thing to arrest and charge a person, but it is a totally different thing to have evidence to prosecute a person.
“They were charged on June 19 and a reasonable time of three months was given to the police to complete investigations.
“That has lapsed.”
Bidar discharged Nogini Miopa Jr, 20, Manu Kiage, 20, Levi Arabel, 21 and Edzel Waure, 21.
The four, all from Chimbu’s Sinesine–Yongomugl, are University of PNG undergraduates.
They were alleged to have attempted to kill another student, Gideon Joko, from East Sepik, in a fight within the UPNG Campus at about 1.30am on May 9.
They were drinking alcohol in the UPNG Games Village and were walking up towards the Uniforce Security Base when they were allegedly involved in a fight with three other students.
In the fight, two students fled, leaving Joko behind who allegedly fell and was kicked by the four.
One of the four threw a stone on Joko’s head, causing a deep wound.
Joko fell unconscious and was rushed to Port Moresby General Hospital. The fight almost triggered a confrontation between the East Sepik and Chimbu student communities in the University of Papua New Guinea.
The Uniforce Security then alerted the police who intervened and arrested the suspects and charged them each with one count of attempted murder.