K300 bail for public drinking

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Thursday, April 28, 2011

By GABRIEL LAHOC
IT is official. A person drinking in public or behaving in a disorderly manner will now pay K300 for bail while a drunken motorist will pay K600, if caught, arrested and locked up by police.
For one drink driving-related offence, the driver will now pay K200.
This was made known by police on the first day of the alcohol symposium in Lae, Morobe, yesterday.
Sgt Silas James, from the community policing division, said these were part of new measures to curb alcohol abuse.
People previously paid K100 and K300 respectively but James said the increase was announced by the office of the Lae metropolitan superintendent and implemented last Thursday.
His superior, Chief Sgt Sam Sodeng, said tougher laws would contribute to a decline in alcohol abuse.
That, he said, should in turn help ease the many law and order problems experienced by police.
Sodeng said alcohol abuse and its effects on the community had opened the doors to the illegal practice of compensation.