Defendants in court without proper bail records: Magistrate

There is an increasing number of cases where defendants are appearing in court without proper bail records, a magistrate says.
“It appears that some policemen are pocketing some of the bail money,” Boroko District Court magistrate Laura Kuvi said.
She made the comment on Tuesday after ordering a woman accused of insulting another woman to present her bail receipt in court.
Josephine David, 28, from Western Highlands, charged with using insulting words, was asked to confirm the K200 police bail verbally after presenting her bail receipt to court.
“We have to actually confirm that you have paid K200 because in the past weeks some defendants have appeared in court claiming to have paid K300 to police when it shows on the receipt that they have paid K200,” Kuvi said.
It was alleged that on Jan 8, at Air Transport Squadron (ATS) block, David accused Rachel Willy of witchcraft.
David denied the allegations and said that police have only heard ‘one side’ of the story.
David will appear in court on Feb 12 for trial.
Her K200 bail was extended.