Vaki charged with conspiracy

Former police commissioner Geoffrey Vaki charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice appeared at the Waigani committal court last Friday.
Vaki is alleged to have conspired with Minister for Justice and Attorney-General Ano Pala to prevent the arrest of Prime Minister Peter O’Neill on allegations of official corruption and misappropriation of public funds.
Lawyer representing Vaki argued that none of the witnesses in the police hand up brief gave any evidence to sustain the elements of which his client was charged.
He argued that the prosecution was trying to have ‘a second bite of the cherry’ and that his client was being ‘persecuted’ not ‘prosecuted’.
Senior magistrate Cosmas Bidar explained that Vaki was charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice and abuse of office for the same matter on Nov 12, 2014.
The case was dismissed and Vaki’s lawyer was implying that prosecution was relying on the same evidence in the police brief, Bidar said.
He said that the court would consider submissions in light of what was contained in the police brief and make an appropriate ruling.