Police target negligence in ferry disaster probe

MANY people will be arrested for negligence in relation to the mv Rabaul Queen disaster, Police Minister Nixon Duban says.
He said the commission of inquiry (CoI) had reported many irregularities, especially in the vessel’s sea worthiness and negligence by its owners, the agencies and the department concerned.
Duban said that police would act on the CoI recommendations and also started their own investigations last week.
He said 30 police investigators would be based in five provinces to conduct their investigations and people who had an interest in the matter were urged to talk to them.
He said officers would be based in Lae, Kimbe, Rabaul, Port Moresby and Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
He added that the transport department had also failed in its duties as revealed in CoI report.
“I must say that many people will be arrested in this case as the CoI has exposes many irregularities on the party of the ship owner, the agencies involved and the department responsible,” Duban said.
“Police will not give-up so we must not politicise. They have to face the full force of the law,” he said.