Team set up to probe Kokopo death

AN independent investigation team has been set up to look into the involvement of four police officers in East New Britain in the death of the Kokopo Business College final year student while in custody at the Kokopo police cells on June 24.
New Guinea Islands’ divisional commander Anthon Billie said members of the Rabaul criminal investigative division were investigating the four task force officers who had been suspended.
The officers were suspended last week after they were identified as being part of the group of officers who had attended the scene during the commotion created by drunken students near the school premises.
The fracas developed after a drunk student had a fight with the operators of a canteen next to the school.
Billie said the suspension of the officers followed normal procedures on complaints received on officers.
He said if the officers were found to have acted outside their jurisdiction, they would be subject to disciplinary action.
Billie said they were awaiting the result of a post mortem examination conducted at Nonga Base Hospital on the late Stanis Jiki, from Wosera in East Sepik.
It is understood the post mortem examination has been completed but results have yet to be submitted to the coroner. 
The coroner’s office at the Kokopo district court said a coronial inquest had been set for July 18.
Billie said officers from Rabaul had been tasked with the investigation because it was a costly exercise to get officers from outside the province.
Non-governmental or­ganisations in the province have expressed concern about the continuous violation of human rights of ordinary citizens by members of police and other law enforcement bodies in the province.
Representative, Patrick Varagat said the latest death in custody was just one of the many reports of police brutality in the province.
He claimed police officers regularly swore at innocent people and crime suspects, and often beat and assaulted people.
He said there were cases of policemen being called on by their relatives to make arrests of suspects without search or arrest warrants or those cases not going through mediation.
Varagat said police must stop trying to beat confessions out of suspects.
He said police should exercise self-control and not be critical or violent against suspects and innocent citizens.