Province mourns death of Unitech student

 By PETER WARI
PEOPLE from Southern Highlands are mourning the killing of University of Technology first-year student Graham Romanong inside his dormitory in Lae on Saturday night.
A peaceful protest was held in Mendi town on Sunday by relatives who had rubbed their bodies in clay as a sign of mourning. They started their march from the Agiru centre, around the town and ended up at the police station.
Romanong was from Mendi and had just returned from there on Saturday for a short break when he was attacked and killed.
The relatives called on Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and the Opposition leader Don Polye to address the issue.
Assistant police commissioner Chief Superintendent Mark Yangen thanked the relatives for staging a peaceful protest which did not cause any inconvenience to others.
A spokesman for the relatives Ferman Manua said a funeral service would be held at the Momei Oval and invited O’Neill and Polye to attend.
Manua said the death of Romanong was the responsibility of the State.
Southern Highlands deputy governor James Mali said district chief executive officers must discuss with their MP how to get the student’s body from Lae.