Officers instructed to investigate health dept

POLICE Commissioner David Manning has instructed his officers to investigate immediately corruption-related allegations made during the recent Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the Health Department.
He said the Public Accounts Committee had identified “criminal culpability on the part of a number of senior Health Department officials, so we are in the process of interviewing them”.
The committee has suspended the inquiry into the procurement, supply and distribution of medicine to next month.
But Manning said police had a “moral obligation to the people of PNG to investigate”.
“I am grateful to the support given by the Minister for Health and the Secretary for Health in this regard,” he said.
“We will work closely with them to ensure that justice prevails.” He also praised the work of the committee led by Sir John Pundari and Oro Governor Gary Juffa in the inquiry into the Health Department and other government agencies.
“I have had meetings with Sir John and his team and have assured him of continued police support and assistance to the PAC,” he said.
“We understand the process of the Public Accounts Committee inquiries. But where there is sufficient evidence, police will conduct separate investigations and take appropriate action where necessary.” He said police would work with government departments and agencies to weed out corruption.
“I have established a special investigation team to investigate a number of high profile cases including the 40 cases alluded to by the former police commissioner (Gari Baki),” he said.
“These are experienced police investigators who have been brought in from other units to advance these investigations.”