Jobs-agent pretender charged

A MAN who allegedly acted as a seasonal workers’ agent for a Brisbane farmer in Australia appeared for mention at the District Court in Wagani, Port Moresby, last week.
Chris Kaupa Wemin, originally from Mul in Gumine in Chimbu, is charged with four counts of false pretence.
Magistrate Cosmas Bidar adjourned the matter to July 20 for the prosecution to make a submission before sentencing.
Waigani District Court Grade 5 prosecutor Senior Constable Regina Kilip objected to Wemin’s request for another adjournment to allow his lawyer to appear in court.
Kilip said Wemin first appeared in court on June 22, appeared again on June 29 but his lawyer was not present and that wasted the court’s time.
Kilip also told the court that a police brief was served on Wemin but his lawyer failed to make submissions as court rules indicated.
In court, Wemin pleaded guilty to all the charges and said he was sorry he committed the offence.
A police report said that between Dec 15 and 29 last year, at Erima and Jackson International Airport Terminal in Port Moresby, Wemin took from Noah Francis K1389.26 under the pretence he was a seasonal workers’ agent.
Police said he did the same to Joel Kepa and Francis Bomai and obtained K1389.26 from each individual and also took from Josephine Simon K475.
It was alleged that he made Bomai, Simon, Kepa and Francis believe that he was an agent of a Brisbane farmer in Australia and that he would use his position to make travel arrangements for them to go to Australia to work in a Brisbane farm.
He allegedly obtained from each a sum of K450 for jobs registration fees, the court was told.