Public prosecutor to dig deep to fund expenses in robbery case

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A TOTAL of K239,422.70 from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) recurrent budget has been spent on logistics and administration for the William Kapris case with the CID also knocking back the public prosecutors office’s request for further assistance.
Yesterday, senior state prosecutor Pondros Kaluwin asked Justice David Cannings for a possible one-month adjournment so that pending monies could be made available for witnesses in Lae to be brought to Madang for the trial.
His oral submission was opposed by defence counsels, David Dotoana of Dotoana Lawyers representing Kapris, state solicitors Anne Raymond and Mwagawa Mwawesi, representing 10 of the co-accused and Seth Daniels of Daniels Lawyers for three other co-accused.
Cannings asked Kaluwin: “Are all your witnesses in Lae? Whose job is it to secure funding for a major criminal trial? I would have thought that it would be the public prosecutors job. The public prosecutor is an independent public office holder with the ability to enter its rights into showing the national government that it would find funds, other than the hiccup that is now happening”.
Cannings said it was not in the best interest of the public to let the trial drag on and took into account the defendants arguments that most of the co-accused had spent two years three months in remand and justice needed to be expedited.
In two separate letter tendered in courts Kaluwin tried to show cause as to the reason for a further extension of  the trial.
Meanwhile, one letter dated July 22, to Assistant Police Commissioner Raphael Huafolo from CID director David Yamasombi requested  K387,835.60 for the Madang trial.
The money was made available and was used for the Air Niugini charter, travelling allowance for Lae and Moresby-based police personnel and fuel costs including witness movement costs amounting to the total.
Huafolo yesterday confirmed that the initial costs earmarked had been depleted and a submission to the Department of Finance by the Police Department  before the case got started for additional funds had received no response.