Officers urged to be fair

Assistant Police Commissioner Crimes Victor Isouve has urged his colleagues to be fair in upholding the rule of law.
Isouve said the law covered all people and police had to uphold it without fear and favour, regardless of who the accused was, whether a relative or a close friend.
His comments followed a complaint that was not investigated properly.
The investigation team arrested and charged Constable Danly Kotapu, from the Alotau public safety unit, with three counts of rape.
It was alleged that between July 6 and Aug 19 last year, the defendant on three occasions raped a minor in his room at the Goilanai single police barracks.
The victim reported the matter to the Alotau police sexual offences squad but was not happy as her matter was prolonged for a year. So the matter was reported to the police investigation unit (IIU).
After a series of investigations, it was found that the matter was not checked thoroughly by a policewoman who handled the case because the accused was her squad mate.
It was also revealed that statements from witnesses, medical reports and other evidences had been collected by the woman constable, but when questioned, she denied having handled the case.
The accused was brought in for questioning and was charged.
He is in custody at the Alotau Correctional Service at Giligili awaiting his next mention.
Isouve condemned the actions of the accused and the policewoman.
“We took an oath to uphold the rule of law without fear and favour. We have no excuse,” he said.
He said the team would fly back to Alotau to have the policewoman charged with preventing the course of justice and preventing investigations.