Police officer gets High Court trial

By CHRISTOPHER YOWAT
THE Waigani Committal Court found enough evidence yesterday to commit a policeman charged with murder to trial in the National Court.
Jeffery Sheekiot, from Bogia in Madang, was charged with the wilful murder of Salle Naime Tom at Tatana village in the National Capital District on June 17, 2015.
Magistrate Cosmas Bidar handed down the ruling after he found sufficient evidence to commit Sheekiot to a trial.
The court found that the accused was in the company of other senior officers when the crime was committed.
The court heard that the accused and other officers, all co-accused, went to Tatana village to arrest Tom, who was a suspect in the murder of Harold Farapo.
The court was told that the accused, with other senior officers, drove to the village in a convoy of vehicles to pursue the suspect.
The court heard that when Tom was sighted, he was shot at by the officers while he tried to swim away from them. The court heard that Tom was defenceless at that time.
The court was told that the accused did nothing to stop his colleagues since they were his superiors.
Magistrate Bidar said the accused’s inaction to stop the shooting amounted to aiding and abetting .
Sheekiot told the court in a statement that some of the statements from witnesses could not be used in court because they were his co-accused.
Magistrate Bidar said the court still found sufficient evidence to commit the case to the National Court even without the statements from the co-accused.
He ordered that Sheekiot appear before the National Court on Aug 28 for listing and that he remain in custody.