Governor: Police harrass women, kids

By SHEILA MALKEN
WOMEN and children have been  harassed and humiliated by a group of police officers at the Porebada village during a raid,  Central Governor Kila Haoda says.
He said the officers were driving in a civilian white 10-seater Toyota and harassed women and children, disbanded their market stalls and seized all their betel nuts.
Haoda asked Police Minister Nixon Duban in parliament yesterday whether he was aware of the raid.
“Time and time again undisciplined officers have tarnished the name of this force in PNG and what are we going to do?” Haoda asked.
He said youths from the area had been frustrated seeing women and children being harassed, they retaliated and stoned the vehicle belonging to the police.
“What actions are we going to take against these officers?” Hauda asked.
Duban said he was aware that the National Capital District (NCD) had a betel nut ban policy in place.
“It appears that NCD has taken a strong approach in condemning the sale of betel nuts and it is very interesting to see police providing security and monitoring the movement of betel nuts,” Duban said.
“We have a situation that we have to put up a fight against the ban in the city and I respect the NCD governor for his stand.
“Police involvement in this particular issue has raised a lot of concern about their duties in the public.”
Duban said police were heavily involved in a couple of roadblocks and their involvement in trying to manage the sale of betel nuts was an issue that really had to be put down if police should be used in this regard.
“When we have bigger law and order issues to manage, and they have been heavily deployed and not into the core function of their duties,” Duban said.
He said police may only be allowed to assist in certain sections of the ban and for them to be fully engaged was “very embarrassing” as there were bigger issues.
Duban assured Haoda that a few police officers had conducted themselves in a manner which was not acceptable.
He asked Haoda to write a letter of complaint to his office and the commissioner, and he would attend to the matter.
“Their actions are very embarrassing during this time when the government has given a lot of support into the modernisation programme and they had no excuse to go out and harass the public.”