Family demands answers

The National Main Stories

A MAN allegedly shot by police at 8-Mile in Port Moresby, on Tuesday night has been identified as Greg Pupang, a 30-year-old father of one who was preparing to welcome his second child in the coming months.
Greg’s brother Ps Andrew Pupang said the loss was immense especially with his pregnant wife struggling to look after their three-year-old son.
“Greg was the breadwinner of their family,” the pastor said.
“He sold betel nuts to provide for his family.
“His death has hit the family hard.”
Ps Andrew said Greg travelled every day to 8-Mile to buy his betel nuts from route-600 buses from Gulf and Kairuku.
“As per the National Capital District Commission’s restrictions, there are locations outside city limits that sell betel nut,” he said.
“Greg liked to go to 8-Mile as he was familiar with the area.
“On Tuesday night, Greg made his way up to 8-Mile after his betel nut were sold out.
“We did not know about the incident until family members called in saying that there was a fight with police officers at 8-Mile,” Ps Andrew said.
“We made our way to the scene and found Greg.”
When asked why Greg’s lifeless body was carried to the Boroko police station, Ps Andrew said the family wanted the police to know what happened to Greg and what would happen in relation to his death.
“We were not there to attack the station,” Ps Andrew said.
“We were a grieving family that wanted answers to why police shot into a crowded area.
“We were met by senior officers at the police station who told us to leave the body at the morgue and then bring in our complaints (to) be registered.
“We have registered an official complaint with the Boroko criminal investigations division.
“We are ready to assist police with their investigations,” the pastor said.
“The family want those who were at the scene to be honest in their statements so we can have answers to Greg’s death.”
Greg is from Wapenamanda in Enga.
Assist Comm of Police NCD/Central Anthony Wagambie Jr confirmed that the officers involved had been “stood down from duties with a full investigation and inquiry to take place”.

17 comments

  • Too many overcrowds of Highlanders living POM it is about time Government look into to send these Highlanders doing nothing in POM to go to their respective Province

    See what happen police are trying their best to control Law & order Problem when too many vendors doing nothing

  • Just return back to your home province and survive on your own land. Typical attitudes has resulted in the confrontation, disrespectful of the law and the enforcers.

    Government better do something

  • PMJM we need entire reform to the police department and it’s management and operations especially related police open fire into crowded areas. A young man is another victim to police brutality yet again.

  • Amesi, Wopa hool ruts, and tired pinis.. I really don’t agree with your baseless childish comments.. Have you ever lost a father brother or uncle in a police brutality like late Greg’s family? If you do than you shouldn’t come up with very cheap comments like this. This incident is pure police brutality. Police hierarchy is to be blamed for this loss of life. Besides be very mindfull POM is a multicultural city. All citizen in this beautiful country have all the right to live and work there including the international community. My condolences to late Greg’s wife and his third year old son. May the Good Lord comfort you in this time of grief and pain..

  • Survival of the fittest in the city ,and killed .In the cash society, its formal employment dictates the lives. Those who cannot earn cash survive by informal businesses, and these are unemployed people who are drifting into towns and cities , after city lights from rural areas mostly. What is the better way out for this living when you come to city and built a make shift house and eventually shanty towns are establish by those who will call it a home away from home. The challenge begin for them. Its lost for living but create something to survive. Break rules and adopt survival . Death is imminent thus such as this young loss his life .Survival of the fittest.

  • You are very cruel to try to send Highlanders back to their own place. They have ruined and destroyed their own Provinces and need to come to POM, MDG, WWK, Lae, etc to make a living now. Thus you see money-faced in every Province of PNG, but they try to get away from their own useless, lazy, Parasitical wontoks. But can you ever see other Coastal and Island Province citizens making money in the Highlands? No Way! Any Papuans, Sepics, Centrals ever seen driving PMVs in the Highlands or on Highlands Highway. No way, they would kill them. Thus they must come to other Provinces and cities that they haven’t destroyed yet.

  • I would like to stand behind comment made by Bina Kaugla . Pom is everybody’s place. Due to globalisation and change we also want to see change in our own life. Back at home there are tribal fight civil war and sorcery related killing making it uncomfortable to remain at home. We want better life , better future like others. If government blaming and firing at people he should provide sufficient formal work opportunities before enforcing law and order. We heard killing around main centres in nation is only for those who want to earn living. If you are formally employed getting pay packages you should worry about your brothers and sisters doing nothing around street. If there is surplus work opportunities we all should living same live, there wouldn’t be any such problem.

  • Hi John look at them as people who can make things out of nothing,they are good people, lets see them as what your eyes can not see, we got two eyes, one always sees the bad side, second eye see the best side,lets always use our second eye to make good judgments on the such challenging situations for the good of this nation.

  • The constitution guarantees every citizen of this country freedom of speech, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, the right to education, the right to health, the right to protection from the police and defence force of this country.
    What the police did was totally wrong.
    For those of you throwing negative comments against the highlanders in general, please note that this country depends on the shoulders and the sweat of the highlanders.

  • People will always flooded into POM for easy access to every services…..

    Again our government and politicians should look at developing our very own provincial towns and districts and deliver the most needed services down to the village people……
    That will stop unnecessary immigrants into our cities such as POM and Lae……

    Olsem giaman tinting tasol blo mi

  • Blame government of the day. What is he doing for the entire population of this country in particular the jobless, poor, vulnerable, hardworkers. Government of the day is making billions of kina out of mining, oiling, gasing, marine resource, forestry , and many more and yet we are still poor.

    People are trying to find better lving and going into major towns and cities so it goes back to the government of the day to properly consider the struggles tha each and every individual PNGans is facing and address from the bottom of the causes. And tha will at least ease some survival tensions that every PNGans is facing right now.

  • Well stated Bina.
    Condolences to late Greg’s wife and his son. May the Good Lord comfort you in this time of grief and pain..

    Hope a good investigation into the shot out is carried out to establish the root cause of incident so that justice can be serve accordingly.

  • Port Moresby is the Nation’s Capital district and not Papuan, Momase, or NGI Capital, get your facts right and blame the senseless police shooting into harmless crowed, this is a democratic country, and freedom of movement is not restricted. After all, government is to blame for lack of basic services in the respective towns and so people come into NCD searching for this so stop being so vocal about movements of people into town, we are all PNGnians.

  • Highlanders are business minded people in PNG compared to any other regions . This is how they were brought up, other regions like Momase , central and Niugini islands, yupla ol malomalo lain no inap lo work hard olsem ol highlanders ..they are smart people .. Pom is the capital city and any body can migrate there and live there as long as he/she can survive in the city. You can criticize as much as you can but you cannot remove the mindset of the Highlands people and you cant get rid of them from your towns and even POM city. They will continue to make their living .
    Condolence to the family of the man who was shot may he rest in peace. let the law deal with this and let the Highlanders continue with the business in the city and other provinces …Larim ol Flow..

  • I think PNG Royal Constabulary are using some kind of super magic bullets. Whenever they shoot their guns during holdups, riots, and when under attack by drunken bums their bullets always hit a kind, beloved, good boy who was just an innocent bystander helping old ladies going shopping, taking his grandmother to church or he was on his way to school. To hear all the wontok compensation vultures tell it, all their raskols are sweet, innocent angels.

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