Protection act in effect

THE newly enacted Family Protection Act 2013 which carries a penalty of up to two years imprisonment or a K10,000 fine has been implemented to deal with perpetrators of domestic violence.
The first case under the new legislation was dealt with recently by the Family Sexual Violence Unit at Boroko in Port Moresby.
The unit’s national coordinator Chief Inspector Delilah Sandeka told The National that they had started using the new legislation.
“The act carries a penalty of one to two years imprisonment and a fine of K10,000,” she said. Sandeka said a suspect was recently arrested for breaching the family protection orders and was awaiting his court appearance.
She said it would be the first case for the unit.
Sandeka said the laying of charges against suspects would be sorted out later but the first arrest would set things in motion for the unit.
She urged people who had been subjected to domestic violence after being issued protection orders to report the perpetrators to the unit so they could be penalised.