DWU student leader attacked

A STUDENT leader of the Divine Word University in Madang was assaulted by six youths from the Wagol settlement last Saturday near the university gate.
Student representative council president-elect for 2010, Dennis Kitchnoke, received several knife wounds to his head and a deep cut above his eyebrow when he was hit with an empty beer bottle while
trying to save another student from being robbed.
Mr Kitchnoke, a final year Business Studies student,  is one of many students who had fallen victim to robbery, physical and verbal assault, holdups, harassment and intimidation over the years by youths from the nearby settlement.
Early this year, the student body staged a peaceful march to the provincial government headquarters to petition the government to immediately address the continuous problems they faced.
However, since the presentation of the petition some three months ago, no response had been received from the administration.
The assault occurred as Mr Kitchnoke was trying to save another student from being robbed by the youths.
Although the incident occurred, just a few metres away from the university’s guard house, the guards failed to assist the students.
Two of the suspects were later identified and one of them was a suspect in other major crimes in the province but police are yet to make any arrest.
A court order is in place, which was sought by the Madang provincial government some years ago, that any person from a settlement found to be involved in any crime should be forced to return to their homeland.
The order was sought while Governor Sir Arnold Amet was the chief justice and is still in force, but it has never been imposed.
A legal expert and former judiciary member revealed this after the latest incident.