Wagambie vows to remove rogue cops

By ANGELINE KARIUS
ACTING Police Commissioner Tony Wagambie has vowed to vigorously fight to end corruption, unethical and undisciplined behaviour by police personnel.
He made this remark yesterday after internal police investigators arrested a policeman in Port Moresby for aiding the escape of two prime suspects from the Badili police station cells on Jan 30.
Wagambie said instructions had been issued for internal investigators in provinces to clamp down on corrupt practices within the force, which he said remained the biggest concern affecting the image of the constabulary.
He said too often people complained about corrupt practices perpetrated by police personnel all over the country and one way of cleaning the rot was the need to have corrupt police personnel arrested and charged.
First Const Graham Foili, 45, from Degi village, Lufa, Eastern Highlands, was alleged to have released two suspects on Jan 30 without charging them for the offences they allegedly committed. 
He was also charged with assaulting another policeman, Sgt Murray Kaia, who was the complainant in the matter involving the two suspects.
Internal police investigators found that Kaia was assaulted by a group of men armed with knives and clubs at the Sabama bus stop and soon after the attack, the two suspects were arrested and taken to the Badili police station and handed over to Foili.
According to the investigators, Foili had obtained a statement from Kaia but failed to lay charges against the two suspects.
They said when Kaia had inquired at the station some time later whether the two had been charged, he was assaulted by Foili.
The matter was reported to police internal affairs and Foili was interviewed and charged with permitting the escape of two suspects and unlawful assault.