Officer goes beyond duties to help woman

By REBECCA KUKU
IT’S not every day that we hear of good deeds by police officers.
But Constable Mary-Louise Avu has gone beyond the call of duty to protect a woman allegedly assaulted by her in-laws who they accused of practising sorcery.
Avu, an officer of the Family and Sexual Violence Unit at the Waigani police station in Port Moresby, has been sleeping at the office over the past two weeks to guard the 28-year-old mother-of-three.
Avu and officers from the unit in Waigani had rescued her (from an undisclosed area,) and brought her to live in a Meri Safe Haus in Port Moresby. But when they found out that all safe houses were full, Avu decided to take her to the FSVU office at the back of the Waigani police station to stay there.
She has since been sleeping in the office to keep her safe, although they are not supposed to accommodate people at the FSVU office.
“Thanks to our FSVU coordinator and the team at Boroko who allowed us to take the client in and accommodate her at our office. We have been able to provide shelter for the woman and her six-month-old baby for the last two weeks,” Avu said.
“Taking into consideration that she is a female with a baby, I had to leave the comfort of my home to stay with her here as we work on her case.”
Avu had graduated with a degree in economics at the University of PNG but decided to follow her father’s footstep and joined the constabulary in 2011. She is currently studying law at the university while working with the Waigani police FSVU.
“With a family history in law and order, I’ve always wanted to help people so I’ve been using money from my own pocket to purchase necessities for the woman and her child,” Avu said.
“Haus Ruth has been supporting the woman by sending her meals at the FSVU office. My senior, Sergeant Peter Aimm, has also been very supportive, standing by my side to ensure that we help the woman to the best of our ability.”
Avu said it was the third case of sorcery-related violence she had encountered this year.