Police probe beheadings

 By DOROTHY MARK 
POLICE in Madang are investigating the killing of three men who had their heads chopped off in Transgogol last Thursday.
A group, presumably the killers, carried the heads along the Mawan road to show them to the public.
Witness Nick Sare, from East Sepik, said the arms and legs of the victims were stuffed into bags and carried around by the suspects.
Madang police station commander Inspector Vincent Isanda said the men were from Berin village near the Mawan government station.
Isanda said some people from the village argued over certain rituals and hacked the three men.
He said they carried the heads of the men to show the public about what they had done.
Sare said he was on a PMV travelling into town and saw a group of men carrying the heads along the main road.
Sare said the limbs were in bags.
Isanda described the killing as ‘‘horrendous and barbaric’’.
He said Berin villagers retaliated by setting up roadblocks along the Mawan road, causing inconvenience to the travelling public.
Isanda said a police unit was sent to monitor the situation.
Chopping of heads and brutal killings in the area had raised fear among the community.
Many killings remained unresolved and they had become a major challenge for police, Isanda said.
An officer from the Criminal Investigation Division, who wanted to keep anonymity, said many people were scared to come forward and provide statements to police.
He said that was why many cases were thrown out by the courts.