Police never got report of refugee attack, Turi says

Police have not received any reports regarding the alleged attack by a group of men in a hotel in Port Moresby last Sunday.
NCD Met Supt Benjamin Turi said he had not received any report or information on the alleged attack at the hotel where 17 refugees from the Manus detention centre were awaiting medical treatment.
He said police had not received any report or complain regarding the attack of the refugees and they were not sure of that.
“We could only act upon receiving reports for any incident, we cannot guess if there was a crime scene there,” he said.
Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani, who is a detainee at the centre, told Radio New Zealand that the attack happened on Sunday, July 10, at about 11pm.
Boochani said four men armed with guns took two of the refugees hostage.
He said money was taken from the guards and one of the refugees was assaulted.
Boochani said the armed men fired their weapons at the hotel staff before escaping in a vehicle.
The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection last Wednesday said they were aware of the incident.
The department provides security and welfare services for Manus regional processing centre residents in Port Moresby for medical treatment.
A spokesperson said: “Two residents from the regional processing centre were present at the time.
“One resident was assaulted. He was not seriously injured. Law enforcement is the responsibility of the PNG Government.”
Boochani said the refugees, who had been at the hotel for nearly two months, were traumatised by the attack.
Their request to be sent back to Manus Island was denied, he said.
The department spokesperson said the refugees would return to Manus when they completed their treatment.
Meanwhile, Turi said it was better to report to the police as soon as the incident happened so that with the help of the hotel management and securities they could work together to identify the criminals.