Police arrest shooting suspect

National
Source:
The National,Tuesday June 28th, 2016

 By NICHOLAS SIREO 
A SUSPECT in the shooting of a senior doctor in Lae on Saturday night has been arrested, police say.
Lae Metropolitan Superintendant Anthony Wagambie said the suspect from East New Britain was apprehended a few hours after the incident .But five accomplices are still on the run.
“So far, five suspects have been identified by community leaders and police are working to arrest them,” he told The National.
Wagambie said community leaders were working with police to help identify the suspects and he was hopeful of arrests soon.
“These suspects have been involved in holding up vehicles and robbing the travelling public along the Back Road,” he said.
He said the five suspects were repeat offenders who had been terrorising motorists and carrying out random armed robberies.
Wagambie said Dr Alphonse Rongap was a long-serving health practitioner and the manner in which he was killed was uncalled for.
He said the doctor was shot at close range with  a home-made gun at about 8pm on Saturday at Centre Market after he had dropped off friends.
Lae Lord Mayor Koim Trilu Leahy condemned the killing, saying it was a barbaric act.
Leahy said everyone had the right to freedom of movement in the country and no one had the right to attack anyone travelling on public roads.
“Police must speed up investigations and arrest the people behind the killing immediately,” he said.
He appealed to the community to provide information to police to help locate the suspects. “There is a shortage of doctors in the country and they should be respected.”