Man told to cooperate with police investigators

A PRIVATE school principal, charged with molesting a 10-year-old girl, was reminded by the court to steer clear of trouble while out on bail.
“Even though no bail condition had been imposed, cooperate with police investigators. Don’t get into another problem while on bail,” Lae district court magistrate Edward Kupo advised Simon Benguma.
Kupo told Benguma to strictly cooperate with police investigators and not to get involved in another problem while awaiting his court appearances.
Benguma appeared for mention before Kupo after allegedly touching a school girl sexually on March 13. The girl was at that time a student in the private school of which Benguma is the principal and owner.
Benguma’s K500 bail was extended pending police reports to be completed and would appear again in court on May 8.
Kupo also warned those attending court hearings to behave and avoid making unnecessary noise while in the court room.
He made the warning after the public pushed their way into a packed court room.
“I cannot conduct this hearing when there are people making noise and walking in and out of the court room while the hearing is in progress,” Kupo said.
He said although it was the right of citizens to witness hearings, “there is just not enough space for all”.
“It is okay for people to come into the court room and witness the proceedings but they must maintain silence and not walk around unnecessarily because that would distract the court’s attention,” he said. “If you are caught doing some against the law in a court room, you will be cited with contempt of court.”