Villagers yet to hand in murder suspects: Cop

By SAMUEL BARIASI
NO arrest has been made since two men were killed in Bogia, Madang on Jan 31, provincial police commander acting Supt Mazuc Rubiang says.
He said the communities of Mambuan and Sepa were yet to reach an agreement to help police by handing over the suspects.
“Even though the fighting has stopped, the situation is still tense because the murder suspects from both sides are not handed over yet,” he said.
Two separate killings occurred on Jan 31.
Felix Gatupe, of Sepa village, was allegedly killed by the Mambuans at around 5pm after learning that Felix Tapelo, from Mambuan, was attacked and killed by a group of armed men believed to be from Sepa.
Acting Supt Rubiang told The National that a police team from Madang that was sent to Bogia to control the situation was still there.
“I am going to Bogia on Wednesday to help arrange for an agreement between the two communities so they can hand over the murder suspects,” he said.
Bogia MP Robert Naguri earlier said the tension between the Mambuan and Sepa villagers was an ongoing issue and was becoming harder to solve every time.
He said the recent murders were part of a conflict over a piece of land that was owned by the Madang Catholic Archdiocese which covered parts of Bogia Station, Sepa and parts of Babangawa village.
Naguri said the Jan 31 murders were the worst compared with incidents that occurred between the two villages over the years.