Manam probe leads to 3 more arrests

By JIMMY KALEBE
THE second phase of investigations into the K6 million Manam restoration authority (MRA) misappropriation has led to three more people being arrested by police last week.
“Among the three is a district court magistrate in Madang who police has been charged with perverting the course of justice and acting oppressively,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Northern Peter Guinness said.
The other two people that were arrested last week, one was charged with two counts of false pretence and the other with six counts of false pretence and five counts of money laundering.
ACP Guinness said in the first phase of the investigations, police arrested nine people who had appeared before the court, with their cases still pending.
He said more arrests were expected before the end of phase two investigations. “The investigations in this issue revealed many discrepancies that amounts to corruption within the Madang administration for which police had overwhelming evidence to present in court,” he said.
ACP Guinness said the third phase of the investigations would start soon and police were expected to arrest more people in connection with the alleged misappropriation of K6 million authority funds.