Sex charges dismissed

TWO soldiers and a teacher facing sex-related charges involving minors had their cases dismissed by a court because police were taking too long to prepare their case.
Vanimo District Court Senior Magistrate Sasa Inkung made the ruling after police said they were having difficulty in bringing the girls to the court in Vanimo.
Kenneth Ulei, 33, from Wati village of Nuku appeared in court charged with raping and sexually assaulting four students at a school in Nuku.
Magistrate Inkung dismissed the case because of “insufficient evidence and poor preparation of court files”.
Ulei had been custody at Vanimo Prison since July.
He was charged with rape and sexual touching after the alleged incidents in June.
The girls were aged between 17 and 18.
He also allegedly raped one of the girls.
Magistrate Inkung also dismissed the case against soldiers Dunstan Liria, 24, from Pamaya village, in Southern Highlands, and Elijah Komaga, 24, from Warakum village in Mt Hagen, who allegedly lured young girls to the their base in Vanimo and had sex with them.
The court struck out the case because police had not completed their court file after three months.
Liria and Komaga had been appearing in court since July 17.
Provincial police commander Chief Insp Moses Ibsagi said the relatives of the girls did not cooperate with police after they “sorted out compensation” with the soldiers.
He said they would rearrest the teacher after going to Nuku to talk to the girls.
“The school is in a remote area so it is a challenge to travel there.”