Damage by army costs K400,000

The National Main Stories

By CLARISSA MOI
THE Waigani National Court has ordered the State to pay more than K400,000 in damages for the destruction caused by Papua New Guinea Defence Force personnel during a raid in Southern Highlands three years ago.
National Court judge David Cannings said: “The State must be penalised for the wilfully unconstitutional actions of its officers.”
It was alleged that on Dec 8, 2018, PNGDF soldiers on a call-out in the province to restore public order, destroyed their homes, gardens and other properties. The soldiers were alleged to have raided Mers and Waa villages in response to a fight the previous day on the highway to Mendi between soldiers and village youths.
Plaintiff George Tandoa on behalf of himself and 14 others started proceedings against the PNGDF commander and the State by writ of summons claiming damages for negligence and breaches of human rights committed by members of the defence force.
Justice Cannings said the soldiers had committed “a tort of negligence during the course and within the scope of their employment.”
“The defence force and the State have obviously failed in their duty to train and educate the members who raided the plaintiffs’ villages and breached their human rights on proper and acceptable methods of upholding law and order.”
The plaintiffs sought damages in four categories:

  • LOSS and damages to property;
  • BREACH of constitutional rights;
  • GENERAL damages for anguish, mental distress and general hardship; and,
  • EXEMPLARY damages.

Justice Cannings said the plaintiffs had presented a number of photographs containing graphic images of burnt down houses and other structures.
However, there was no evidence brought by the State, and no submission to contest the fundamental allegation that a raid of the plaintiffs’ village took place.
Justice Cannings agreed that the plaintiffs had suffered greatly, however, there is no independent valuation report and he was sceptical of some of the amounts claimed. Justice Cannings reduced the K600,000 claim to K496,955.13.
He said while the plaintiffs’ claim in his view was exaggerated, it was nonetheless appropriate to arrive at an assessment of damages.
Justice Cannings also provided a schedule on which the State was to pay the victims and said the proceeding was to be paid on a party-to-party basis.
He said each plaintiff was awarded interest on the amount of damages awarded to them at the rate of two per cent per year, for the period from the date of the incident to the date of judgement.