Woman charged with defamatory publication on FB

A 57-YEAR-OLD woman charged with posting defamatory statements on social media appeared before the Waigani Committal Court.
Dianne Rambe, from Kagua village, Porane in Southern Highlands, employed by the Laloki Psychiatric Hospital as ward manager, was alleged to have posted defamatory comment against Dr Joyce Vida Sonoling, who is the acting director of Laloki Nursing Services.
It is alleged that on May 21, Rambe published a defamatory post on a Facebook group called Laloki Psychiatric Hospital page accusing and defaming the complainant, Dr Sonoling, regarding the removal (deactivation) of her (Rambe) mobile phone number from the hospital communication service called the caller user group (CUG).
Rambe then accused the complainant (Sonoling) of mismanagement in the Laloki Psychiatric Hospital for over 19 years. Rambe’s action was said to have breached normal hospital protocol in addressing internal issues when she posted administrative matters on Facebook which was unprofessional, unethical and illegal.
On June 24, Rambe was reported to the police after her posts had circulated on social media regarding the accusations against Dr Sonoling and the defamation of her reputation and integrity as a medical practitioner.
Rambe admitted posting the defamatory statements and said that the complainant’s action (deactivation of her CUG number) towards her was the reason she expressed her grievances on Facebook.
She was charged with one count of Defamatory Publication pursuant to Section 21 (2) (a) of the Cyber Crime Code Act.
She faced court yesterday on a fixed bail of K300 in which Magistrate Cosmas Bidar adjourned the case to Sept 13 for mention.