Minister condemns attack

By MELTON PAIS
FORMER Sports Minister Justin Tkachenko has condemned the attack on PNG Kumuls centre Nene Macdonald at a hotel on Saturday night.
Tkatchenko said the actions of the attacker were a disgrace and showed a lack of respect some people had to the country’s sports stars.
Tkatchenko said the assault at Lamana Hotel had painted a poor picture of the country.
“Papua New Guineans really need to examine their attitudes,” the Housing and APEC Minister said.
“To throw a bottle or glass at someone’s head is completely unacceptable.
“Who in their right frame of mind does that?
“This rubbish needs to stop, this kind of jealousy and drunkeness is not on.
“Nene Macdonald is a young proud Papua New Guinean champion in rugby league.
“He just signed a three-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys proving that he is a top talent in the NRL.
“We are very proud of him because of his input in PNG Kumuls at the World Cup and in the Pacific tests,” Tkatchenko added.
“We have been doing so well with rugby league putting PNG on the map and for that individual to spoil the reputation of rest of the good people in the country is totally unacceptable.
“It does not look good now that the media not only in PNG but also overseas have reported that one of PNG’s own NRL stars does not want to wear the Kumul jersey because of the incident that happened at a nightclub.
“I believe the culprit has been identified.
“They know his name and where is from so I would ask the police to complete the investigation make a report so the culprit can face the full brunt of the law.
“Hopefully with everything going forward, we can ensure that this incident never happens again,” Tkatchenko said.
Police Minister Jelta Wong also came out in the media condemning the attack and said an investigation would be conducted but advised the hotel management to file a formal complaint with the police in order for the investigation to start.