Scam in military
By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
TWENTY-TWO probationary soldiers and five senior military officers have been referred to the police for investigations into allegations of bribery during recruitment, PNG Defence Force deputy chief Captain (Navy) Phillip Polewara says.
“PNGDF chief Major-General Gilbert Toropo has directed that the suspected soldiers and senior officers must be referred to Boroko police station detectives to be investigated for allegations of using forged education certificates, bribery, malpractices and non-compliance during the recruitment process in the PNGDF,” he said.
He said the allegations arose from a joint military-Education Department investigation.
The senior officers attached to the personnel branch at Murray Barracks and the training unit at the Goldie River Training Deport were identified by a military-police investigation.
Capt Polewara said the soldiers, from the first intake of 2020, were now held at the training depot.
“They should have been referred earlier to the detectives for further investigation,” he said.
“But the senior military officers did not execute swiftly the orders from Maj-Gen Toropo. And so they will be referred together with these 22 soldiers for criminal investigations.
“The senior officers will be investigated for allegedly receiving bribes, maladministration, non-compliances and other official corrupt practices.”
Capt Polewara said in March 2020, the PNGDF recruitment office was closed because of allegations of bribery raised during the recruitment process.
An audit was ordered into the allegations in which time cadets continued their training.
In May 2020, the PNGDF announced that 119 recruits had been removed after an internal investigation revealed that the recruitment process had been compromised.
It was then that Toropo revealed that staff had been identified to have compromised the recruitment process and would be dealt with under the military discipline code.
In May 2020, five officers from the PNGDF were suspended following investigations into the recruitment process.
29 comments
That’s the whole reason why the PNGDF Recruit must be done by the ADF so there will be no such bribery, etc…
Took these culprit officers who are very desperate of daylight robbery to a fraud for further investigation and held them in behind bars for imprisonment.
I’ve seen with my nacked eye that the scamming is happening with making a reference that I was one of a successful applicant for 2020 cadet officer who we have been short listened of 400 applicant.
Out of that 50 cadet officer would go for training and we are in a running race to be 1 out 50 and that what happening after they getting the bribe, they just bypassed the recruitment process.
Making reference here is that, one of my very best friend back in the high school and both of us we make it through University and I was selected in Unitech and my friend go to Upng. Both us apply for cadet officer and we were among that 400 applicants. During the recruitment process and the 1st step is we set for a English test and that my best had failed that test in the 1st process and he went home. But I thought that he is gone forever but through the scamming he get back straight for interview which is the final process and I was really surprised but then I understand that he had go around and doing bribe and bypassed the process.
Publish their names, province and district, the year each completed Grade 12 and the school name. Am sure some schools will be caught by surprise and some people will be caught of the hook to note their names mentioned as their are other Joe Blow and there is another fake Joe Blow.
How can we win wars if our defense is corrupt. To make matters worse is that our Recruiting Officers themselves corrupting the system.!
Where are we going to go, PNG?
Yes, I agree with the first comment. Let’s get the ADF of Australia to conduct selection & recruitment for in country, PNG.
Seriously, all those people are gonna hurt this country.
You know folks, whether physically, spiritually, we are hurting PNG & people will never see the effect.
People will be impoverished still, as long as corruption is active in PNG.
Bro Engelbert full support
Check out also the Police Recruits. Education Department officials collaborating with the public to produce fake certificates…check out Education Department as well
Yes I hope that our Recruitment is done by ADF, or not changing all OC in charge of PNGDF Recruit by this year….etc
Definitely, definitely this is adamant. that is only a confirmation of the whole government departments are going through the same corruption process. the last leg is the military. if the military is brief we are done. Its an icing on the cake, military only reflects the ongoing habit and detrimental attitude we have in PNG. We are finished, no one can trust us. Military is the highest order of discipline, if it can be seduced what can you predict of the other departments? Our society is stinted, is rotten of corruption. Who can change the face of our business and conduct of good practice of governance and leadership in this country? Hi, listen, it tells me that corruption now is the business of the day, as the one of these Chinese proverbs says, “Corruption is business at its best”. PNG now is heading that way; corruption is the language of survival. It comes is all forms. I know that.
I suggest recruitment of personnel into the Police, Defence and Corrective Services be phased out to reputable professional recruiting firms.
Bro you now why i said all those because i was dropped without any good reason
Great work by our PNGDF Recruiters. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Why finger pointing those officers when the General incharge of our armed forces should be responsible for poor performance by his direct subordinates. To remedy this fraud case I suggest the Force recruts all Grade 10 and 12 school leavers since who physically fit for active millitarty service. This is not fraud and dayligt robbery but rather typical application our melanesian system of Wantoks helping one another to create employment. Don’t give harsh punishment to those long serving officers but simply send them to UN peace keeping assigments. Take note bribery, fraud and scams are world wide so let’s not be judgemental but provide alternate solutions and provide strict guidelines regarding recruitment.
After all those serving officers whether qualified or not will provide secuirity to defend this nation in a war. Let further screening be done in the millitary academy to select officers from infantry men/women. Thankyou countrymen.
Its the norm in almost ALL Government Departments and semi-government organizations.
This must be seen as a step in the right direction by other institutions and maybe start off with Police & CIS and roll down all departments.
The current DF recruitment that is going on must be looked into by the Defence Force hierarchy to ensure similar incidences do not occur again.
I heard rumors of recruitment personnel asking bribes from candidates to get selected.
I also heard several MPs and politicians paying huge amount of money to get their boys into the DF in preparation for the coming national election.
The majority of the first batch that was selected last week bribed their way through while some very potential candidates who meet all the requirements have missed out.
The honerable Sir Peter Ipitas raised some issues about PNGDF and other security personnel not doing anything to stop warlords causing trouble in his province,this is the real reason for them not depending the properties and citizens of this nation.They are recruiting people with no balls.Sanap tasol na look look t.
Corruption is endemic.
Symptom of a broken system.
Examinations, selections and recruitments be done by AUSAID.
A good call by Commander. Time to weed out corruption in our country’s defense force. This is only the tip of the ice berg in eradicating corruption in the PNGDF. There is more to this.
Kak Wane and others in reading,
I wish we meet some day, am a parent of a young man who applied to enlist in the army in 2020.
The recruitment officers ask my boy to front up with K2000. I refused this offer and ask my boy to look around, do not pay your way into any institution, luckily he missed that recruitment.
I know some parents/guardians of candidates paid money to get their boys enlisted, and they are still there as I write. marimari stap wantaim yupela…
Good note, most of the applicants been forfeited due to wantok system.
HOPE all of this on going issues with corruption must stop before the second recruit for 2nd Batch, because there are a lot of potential candidates who have Gr. 12 Certificates, Degrees, Tradesman and Diploma in specific Trades and yet the PNGDF recruiters are recruiting PLESMAN’S into the Government system to continue doing the same thing over and over and in order for PNGDF to progress lets start simple by taking the first step which is HONESTY.
The reason why I was talking about people who have TECHNICAL background is because when COVID 19 shock the world our Government called for State Of Emergency so when ever a SOE occurs that’s when the Solider Personnel’s should step in and take over all the operations so that our ECONOMIC won’t be affect but nothing happens means OL PLES MAN PULAP LO FORCE.
This means during the recruiting process the OC’s in Charge with there Families where enjoying themselves with the Bribery money which they earn from the PLESMAN candidates.
The time has come for the recruitment office to be restructured and become a part of the Department of Defence, and engage a private recruitment and HR company to oversee and recruit young, intelligent, and resourceful Papua New Guineans into this very critical institution.
Corruption is just too much for PNG. It is about time all recruitment processes for government departments & statutory organisations be out-sourced to some overseas based professional recruiting firm.
Secondly, why can’t we (that is those of us who truly hate corruption to the core) support the call made by a very respected professional and a senior citizen like Captain Paun Nongorr to make a stand and form a coalition of like-minded persons to fight corruption and save our country for the future generation.
That’s the reasons why we experience breakdown in discipline in all Defence, Police and CIS. Members.
The irony is that the Sodliers have undergone training and are already trained fighting men. That is a loophole the system cannot undo.
PNG had enough of incompetent, rogue, undicipline and educational flunked and drop outs to become officers of our 3 disciplinary forces.
PNG needs those culprits manipulating the lawful recruitment system must be dismissed and jail.
What a Great Shame!
That’s a good cleanup and get the genuine ones. Why not apply this to the police recruitment, teachers recruitment and the list goes on. The unfortunate ones go back to the village and farm the land as money in the soil.
Both Police and Army recruits who pay their way in become the bad apples in the force. They are the ones causing brutality and costing the government millions of kina in civil suits.
Bryan Enn, I totally agree with you. Recruitment for Police, Defense and CIS should be outsourced to reputable recruitment companies. Application and selection criteria should be very strict. Also, medical check and basic physical fitness training should be run at regional level by reputable security companies in collaboration with Training officers from Defence, Police and CIS. Candidates who fail the medical and physical training component should be eliminated and the best should be selected to enter the disciplinary forces.
I see that the recruitment done today is not like what it used to be before… Recruitment should be done fairly to all the other provinces so we have balance and stability in the force.. Today the force is unbalanced and it’s very risky to handle an unbalanced force…
Can we go back to the books and correct ourselves before we continue recruiting again?
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