Local appears in Aust court

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
A Papua New Guinean appeared before an Australian court for allegedly smuggling six Chinese across the PNG-Australian maritime border to the Torres Strait Islands in   Queensland, acting Thursday Island magistrates court registrar Ricky Grice said yesterday.
Kolony Bama, 55, from Mabudauan village in the South Fly district of Western, appeared before the Thursday Island District Court on one charge of aggravated offence of people smuggling.
He is scheduled to appear before the court again today.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Sam Henry, 31, and of mix Northern and Milne Bay parentage, was convicted of human smuggling by the Daru National Court last week.
He is yet to be sentenced.
Henry was convicted for facilitating the smuggling of four Pakistanis over the Papua New Guinea-Australia border.
Police raided a settlement and apprehended the Pakistanis and Henry.
The Pakistanis had arrived from Port Moresby and were awaiting transportation to Saibai Island in the Torres Strait when they were arrested.