Policeman eyed in death of man shot in the leg

By JIMMY KALEBE
The alleged killing of a villager by a policeman at a hospital compound in full view of the public is drawing strong condemnation from his superiors and the Lutheran Church.
Investigations are underway into the death of the villager late last month.
Acting police commissioner northern command Peter Guinness said the alleged shooting at Gaubin Hospital on Karkar Island was being investigated and assured the public that “police will get to the bottom of this incident and if the officer is found guilty, the officer will face the full force of the law just like any other citizens”.
“No one has the right to take another person’s life and that also applies to police officers as well,” he said. Guinness condemned the killing as “totally wrong and against the law”.
He said the mechanics of how a person should be killed were not yet approved by the Government and for police to do that was seriously wrong.
He said that a progressive report on the incident was yet to be received but he would follow it up with Madang to get the latest on the investigation.
Evangelical Lutheran Church general secretary Bernard Kaisom, in a letter of complaint, condemned the killing, saying “such unlawful actions by a few rouge police officers caused great stress to people”.
“The action of the police in relation to this killing needs thorough investigations and person(s) responsible must be brought to justice,” he said.
According to Kaisom, the villager was picked up by police because of alleged offences he had committed and taken to the Gaubin Rural Hospital on Nov 22.
The suspect was then made to lie on the ground in front of the public, shot at point blank range on the lower part of a leg and left there.
Police then drove off, leaving the man at the hands of hospital staff who tried to save him.
He died in the early hours of the next day.
Kaisom said the church acknowledged the good working relationship it had with State departments and other agencies but such brutality was uncalled for.