PNG trio involved in Carpo’s death

THREE Papua New Guineans were also involved in the alleged killing of senior magistrate Ivo Carpo at Ela Beach, Port Moresby, in 2007, a National Court sitting at Waigani was told yesterday.
Witness Freddy Waromi, a refugee from the Indonesian province of Papua, said this evidence to exonerate his people for the death which they were blamed for.
Papuan refugees were living in make-shift houses next to the UNHCR office at Ela Beach when the vehicle in which Mr Carpo was in, ran off the Ela Beach road and ploughed into the camp on Oct 19, 2007.
Mr Waromi, who claimed to be a Papuan leader, told the court that three Papua New Guineans were responsible for the death which his people had no involvement.
He said he was at the scene at the time of the accident.
Mr Waromi said that in September 2007, the West Papuan refugees moved to settle at Ela Beach, next to the ADF Building that housed the United Nations office after they were evicted from Eight-Mile settlement.
He said they chose that location because they had no other option but to stay near where the office of the United Nation was in order to negotiated and seek assistance.
Mr Waromi told the court that he was among a total of 80 refugees, men, women and children, who had set up tents there.
He said the accident happened when Mr Carpo lost control of the car that he was driving and ran into their tents.
Mr Waromi said that he was asleep when the car went off the road and was almost run over. He was trapped near the exhaust of the car.
He testified that while he lay trapped under the car, he overheard voices saying, “Kilim em, em kilim lida bilong mipela” (Kill him, he killed our leader).
Mr Waromi said he called out that he was alright and not to harm anyone.
When he was pulled out from under the vehicle, he said he saw Papua New Guineans among the refuges and three of them were beating the driver.
He said he was told to “piss off” when he tried to intervene.
Mr Waromi told the court that he saw one man picking up a stone, throwing at the driver’s side of the vehicle, breaking the windscreen and hitting the driving the chest.
The court heard that the driver was found dead when the police arrived.
Mr Waromi denied that any of his “boys” where involved in the killing of the magistrate.
Four suspects where caught and all appeared before the court for the trial.
The trial will continue today.