Court refuses to dismiss case of lawyer held over rape

THE Waigani Committal Court dismissed an application by a lawyer charged with abduction and rape to have the charges dropped because police and court officials tampered with his file.
The accused, Sam Ketan Kissi, 37, of a mixed parentage of Enga and Madang, filed the application on July 17 alleging that his court file had been tampered with by police and court officials and applied for the charges against him to be dropped.
Kissi was charged with three counts of abduction, two counts of deprivation of liberty, and three counts of sexual penetration of three girls aged between nine and 16 years.
Magistrate Cosmas Bidar refused the application saying it was an unusual application filed as a notice of motion which was normally used in civil cases and not criminal cases. “This is an unusual application, as it is made by way of notice of motion,” Bidar said.
“This type of application is usually made in civil proceedings and not in criminal proceedings.
“This process is now slowly creeping into the criminal process which shouldn’t be allowed.”
Kissi’s lawyer Emma Wurr from the Public Solicitor’s Office moved the application in court on Aug 20. The application sought to discharge Kissi and summon several police officers, court officials and lawyers to attend court and explain the alleged incident of tampering.
Bidar said the application alleged tampering of information on the police file but did not provide any evidence of the allegation.
Bidar dismissed the application and adjourned the substantive matter to Oct 23.