Residents warned of selling, chewing betel nuts

PORT Moresby residents have again been warned that the selling and chewing of betel nuts in public places are illegal.
City manager Bernard Kipit was responding to a scuffle between their security guards and a bus driver on Sunday along the Waigani Drive. The guards monitoring traffic at a traffic light saw the driver chewing betel nuts inside the bus and confronted him.
He thanked the police for intervening swiftly to stop the row.
Kipit condemned the use of violence to solve a problem and also urged city residents to cooperate with the guards in carrying out their duties to keep the city clean.
He said the city’s cleanliness was being maintained by the guards after the Apec meeting in November.
City Hall wants zero-tolerance on the chewing and selling of betel nut in public places in the city.
But he admitted that they cannot charge offenders spot fines. Only a court can do. He reminded everyone that Port Moresby was everyone’s “home away from home” and to keep it clean.