Judge stops improper report

THE practice of community health workers preparing medical reports at the request of inmates is improper and inconsistent with the general administration of the Correctional Services (CS) and should stop, a judge says.
Bomana National Court Judge Panuel Mogish said this when refusing an armed robbery suspect bail after finding no credible evidence to prove that the suspect was suffering from any medical condition.
The offence is alleged to have taken place at the Adventure Park at 17-Mile outside Port Moresby.
The applicant and his accomplices allegedly held up a motorist and stole his vehicle and drove back to Port Moresby.
The police arrived and pursued the robbers and in the process the stolen vehicle hit a pedestrian and came to a stop at the Bomana turn-off.
The occupants inside the vehicle escaped.
The suspect was caught by the public and beaten.
The suspect claimed he was innocent and was mistakenly identified and assaulted.
The State lawyer objected to bail, saying these were not exceptional circumstances and the suspect could raise them at trial.
“The medical report prepared by the CS community health worker is unreliable and misleading,” Justice Mogish said.
“There is strong rebuttal evidence from Insp Gometa who says the accused’s condition has been stabilised. That is the most recent sanctioned report from Bomana CS.”
Justice Mogish said the report was prepared without the authority of the jail commander’s office.
“It is an unauthorised report.
“The only authority to release information concerning the health of inmates is the jail commander and not any other warders.”