Two discharged from stealing charge

A Lae committal court has struck out the case of two men charged with stealing a vehicle valued at K190, 000 last Monday.
Magistrate Pious Tapil freed Danny Mangs, 64, from Indum village in Kabwum, Morobe and John Kauten, 46, from Evingo village in Okapa, Eastern Highlands, and ordered Mangs to be discharged from custody and Kauten’s court bail money to be refunded.
Magistrate Tapil noted that Mangs appeared in court from custody while Kauten was on bail.
Tapil said the reason for the decision was that it had been four months and there were no word from the arresting officer about the progress of the files.
He warned the accused: “Don’t repeat the same mistake again, and any matter struck out can still come back to the court if the files are ready.”
It was alleged that on Feb 1, at 6th Street in Lae, Morobe, Mangs and Kauten stole a vehicle that was the property of Morobe government.