Magistrate steps aside

MAGISTRATE Albert Daniels, presiding over a case against Ialibu-Pangia MP Peter O’Neill, who is charged with three counts of giving false evidence, has disqualified himself from the case.
Magistrate Daniels said the decision to disqualify himself was based on the rule of common sense.
“The prosecutor and the council representing O’Neill made submissions on the law and case law on disqualification but this case falls in none of those cases,” he said at the Committal Court in Waigani yesterday, following submissions made on Tuesday in relation to the disqualification.
“Where there is no rule or presiding case, the best rule is the rule on common sense.”
Magistrate Daniels said disqualification in such a matter usually happens when a party makes application to disqualify.
He said this because Daniels himself raised the issue whether he should disqualify himself or not as he had been involved with O’Neill in a case in the past.
He then adjourned the matter to Sept 21, in which O’Neill would appear before another magistrate.
O’Neill’s lawyer Philip Tabuchi then informed the court that when the matter returned, they would make an application to strike out the case if the police were not ready with their hand-up brief.
Former prime minister O’Neill was charged based on allegations that he gave false evidence during the commission of inquiry (COI) into a Union Bank of Switzerland loan.
Police alleged that the COI was established in August 2019 to look into the UBS loan deal obtained by the O’Neill-led government to acquire share in Oil Search Ltd.
On June 5, Chief Secretary Ivan Pomaleu referred the COI report to the Office of the Police Commissioner to do an investigation.
After the investigation, they discovered that statements and information produced by O’Neill between 2011 to 2019 was allegedly false and misleading.
O’Neill denied having any discussions or agreements with Oil Serach Ltd and ELK-Antelope related to buying shares in Oil Search Limited.