Expatriate charged with sexual harassment

AN Indonesian appeared before the Vanimo District Court charged with sexually harassing a Papua New Guinea woman in 2016 in West Sepik, Senior Magistrate Sasa Inkung says.
Inkung said Jimmy Sitompul, 57, from Medan, North Sumatra, appeared before the court on a charge of indecent assault of a co-worker in the company’s office in Vanimo.
He is currently out on a K500 bail and is to appear before the same court tomorrow.
Inkung said Sitompul had been accused of sexually harassing the woman between Feb 12 and June 16, 2016.
The police prosecutor appealed against bail because the accused could escape however, Inkung awarded bail and instructed him to return to court tomorrow.
Meanwhile, an Indonesian Septel Hababut, 55, from Engross village, Jayapura, Papua province, pleaded for leniency after being found guilty of illegally harvesting beche-de-mers near Yako village last month.
Three West Sepik men Raymond Kapor, 50, Dennis Merne, 26, and Manuel Morik, 26, also pleaded for leniency before the court after being found guilty of the same offence.
They harvested beche-de-mers at Angel Island in Aitape last month.
Inkung said the court would make a ruling on their pleas on Monday.