Nupiri refutes allegations

FORMER PNG Power board chairman Peter Nupiri has refuted criminal allegations levelled against him in the media by Police Commissioner David Manning and the Special Police Forensic Criminal Investigation Team (SPFCIT) following the arrest and charging of Carolyn Blacklock, the former PNG Power Ltd acting managing director, on Tuesday.
Nupiri said he could not comment on the arrest and charges against Blacklock as the matter might be before the committal court now.
He believed he acted in good faith and in accordance with the advice of the then-PNG Power board and the executive management in consultation with the shareholder, Kumul Consolidated Holdings Ltd.
In a statement, Nupiri said: “What is clear to me, however, is that the good Police Commissioner David Manning, through his agents SPFCIT, is now running a politically-motivated trial by media against me in breach of my constitutional rights as a citizen of this country.”
According to him, Comm Manning and SPFCIT did not carry out initial enquiry against him based on the complaint in order to accord him the opportunity to turn up at a police station to explain his role in the matter as former chairman of PNG Power.
Unlike Blacklock, Nupiri said he was not interviewed, arrested and charged which could justify them mentioning his name openly in the media.
He said: “I believe that at the initial stages of a police investigation based on a complaint, every person of interest, like myself, is given an opportunity to explain, or assist in any such criminal investigations, including where appropriate, arrest and charge them if the evidence warrants, even on a prima facie basis without ever having to run in the media prematurely in breach of its own internal police operating procedures.
Comm Manning said in a statement last night: “I contacted Nupiri and requested he kindly make himself available for an interview and to assist police by providing copies of official board resolutions to clear his name. Unfortunately, Nupiri has not responded. The production of the official board minutes by Nupiri would certainly assist police to consider whether to proceed with further investigations.”