Officers train in tourism policing

 KUNDIAWA-Gembogl MP Tobias Kulang says almost 100 men have completed training in tourism policing as part of efforts to make visitors to the area feel safe.

The highest mountain in the country, Mt Wilhelm, is the district’s main attraction.

Kulang said the majority of the 92 men would be posted along the tracks of Mt Wilhelm, Chimbu, at 5km intervals to maintain law and order.

He said police training was partly in response to last year’s attack on trekkers on the Black Cat Track in Morobe, where three local porters were killed.

“So far we have not had any problems, any major problems like hold-up, or rape, or robbery, or anything like the scale that we experienced down at Black Cat. But you never know, so we need to be proactive,” Kulang told Radio New Zealand.

He said he wanted to send a clear signal to the international community that Mt Wilhelm was a safe destination.