Leaders told to take comments against them as a challenge

By JIMMY KALEBE
A DISTRICT court magistrate in Lae says some comments or messages published in the media against leaders may not necessarily be defamatory, which those leaders should accept as a challenge.
Magistrate Pious Tapil said: “There are some messages that are published that may look like defaming a person.
“But when we talk about leadership, this should be taken as a challenge.”
He made the remarks when dismissing a defamatory case against Boas Sengi, 43, of Sembang village, Finschhafen in Morobe. The court heard that on May 10, Sengi, while talking to his committee, said things about Finschhafen MP Rainbo Paita.
Sengi’s speech was recorded by a man who sent the audio to Paita.
Sengi had labelled Paita’s leadership as “fake”.
Police arrested Sengi, charged him, detained him at Gagidu Police Station before transferring him to Lae the next day.
He was granted a police bail of K500 in Lae.
Sengi’s lawyer made a no-case submission on Monday, arguing that the case should be dismissed as the police did not establish evidence of witnesses identifying or confirming that the defendant did use a mobile phone to record his statement and circulate it to the public.
Magistrate Tapil dismissed the case and ordered that Sengi’s bail money be refunded.