Fiji’s military chief has made a public admission at a church service that the institution was “at fault” for the death of Jone Vakarisi while he was in military custody.

Local media reported that Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) commander Ro Jone Kalaouniwai, while addressing officers at a military family service, admitted “we are at fault” for Vakarisi’s death.

“We must be held accountable,” he was quoted as saying by local media outlets.

• READ MORE: Other Fiji military reports

State broadcaster FBC reported that Kalouniwai described Vakarisi’s death as an “unintentional” and “regrettable” incident, while the two national dailies reported him saying no one imagined or knew it would end up the way it did.

Vakarisi, 37, was notorious for being at odds with law enforcement and had been linked to criminal networks. He died on April 16 after being detained by soldiers and taken to RFMF’s Queen Elizabeth Barracks in Suva to be questioned regarding “national security investigations”, which included allegations of trying to break in and access military assets.

Commander Kalouniwai initially attributed Vakarisi’s death to “pre-existing conditions”.

However, he was forced to issue a “correction” after the police announced they had classified Vakarisi’s death as murder.

Murder investigation
A murder investigation is currently ongoing, with no one charged, almost a month since Vakarisi’s death.

The Fiji police and military have launched joint security operations to take down criminal networks in the country. The operations have resulted in a heightened military visibility around the country.

Kalouniwai said the security forces had made progress but “an unforeseen incident occurred at the camp”, the FBC report said. He urged military officers to adhere to the law.

RNZ Pacific contacted Fiji police last week seeking an update on the murder investigation.

In an email reply, Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu said he would not let media dictate police actions and advised RNZ Pacific to continue liaising with the police’s media liaison officer.

Over the weekend, graphic and distressing photos of Vakarisi’s body began circulating and being shared widely on social media.

Fiji’s Online Safety Commission said it was “deeply concerned” about the images being circulated.

“The images being shared are highly distressing, show the deceased in a vulnerable and exposed state, and have caused further pain and trauma to the grieving family members,” it said.

“We strongly urge members of the public to refrain from sharing, reposting, forwarding, or publishing such material across any social media platform, messaging publication, or online platform.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has sent his condolences to the family of the policeman killed in Hela province.

He called on the suspects to surrender and for witnesses to assist police with their investigation into the killing of Senior Constable Nelson Kalimda.

“I call upon all persons with information to come out. Arrests must be made to the criminals and the full story behind the officer going missing and [being] killed be established,” Marape said.

• READ MORE: Missing PNG cop found dead, police chief vows ‘swift justice’
• Other PNG police and violence reports

“My sympathies to the wife, children, relatives and rest of the members of the Royal PNG Constabulary.

“We will assist police to bring the criminals to justice. Going forward we will amend laws to bring higher penalties to those who offend [against] police personnel.”

Marape condemned the actions of the criminals.

“If police personnel are not respected, this is not good and police personnel must be given full respect and appreciation by the community.

Drove out by himself
For Hela’s case where the officer drove out by himself without letting his colleagues know and to be found dead a few days later, this demanded a full investigation from police, Marape said.

“I appreciate the Hela provincial government led by Governor Undialu who assisted police with the investigation and location of vehicle and now the body .”

Hela Governor Philip Undialu and Koroba-Kopiago MP William Bando also expressed their sympathies to the family of the dead policeman.

Undialu said:“Hela people and the Hela provincial government are also in grief and share our deepest condolences for this gruesome killing.

“We condemn this animalistic behaviour in the strongest terms possible and appeal to police to come hard on those responsible.

“We have assisted so far and are committed to support the repatriation of the body back to the family and fulfill customary obligation.

‘State of shock’
“We are also committed to ensure that those responsible are captured and face the law.

“The Police Commissioner [David Manning] in his press statement acknowledged our support so far and I assure the family and police force that we are with you in this time of sorrow, grief and state of shock.

“The police located the vehicle but communities identified the culprits and retrieved the body. Hela people will hold a haus krai in Tari and will hand over the body to the family.”

Bando strongly condemned the act and called for an investigation to be carried out to establish the cause and reason for the murder.

He said it was sad losing a life but not all Hela was “at war”, nor were they all responsible for the killing.

Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

Papua New Guinea’s National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop wants the city’s police to fully investigate the gruesome murder of two women in Port Moresby late last week.

Parkop told the Post-Courier that such “despicable” brutality against womenfolk in the city and throughout the country was not welcome — and the recent crimes were not either.

The two women were allegedly raped, murdered and dumped at different locations last week.

• READ MORE: Other PNG crime reports

One body was discovered at the 9-Mile public cemetery just outside the city and the other body at a spot along the Gordon storm-water drain in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“I am and will continue to be appalled that such despicable crimes continue to be committed against women and girls in our city and elsewhere in our country,” Parkop said.

“While there may be other factions contributing to these crimes, the lack of or poor respect for women and girls as equal citizens of our country remains a main cause of violence against women and girls in our country.”

Parkop is a strong advocate of women’s rights and has initiated several programmes to promote gender equality within Port Moresby and also in the National Capital District Commission (NCDC).

Women’s, girl’s lives ‘risky’
“These latest killings in our city are not an exception. Lives of women and girls continue to be risky in our country as a result of continuing gender inequality. I appeal to the police to investigate and have these perpetrators arrested and charged.”

The NCDC will continue to promote the gender equality and eliminate gender-based violence (GBV) across the city.

“On our part in the city we continue to implement our GBV strategy which we will in fact escalate [on Wednesday] with signing of more of NCDC contractors pledging to abide by and implement the strategy with us,” Parkop added.

Port Moresby police chief Metropolitan Superintendent Gideon Ikumu warned over the security of females in the city after the discovery of the two dead women.

Superintendent Ikumu urged city residents — especially young girls and women — to be more considerate about their security and safety when “hanging out with friends” during social outings.

He said such killings were a concern for police and investigations were continuing.

Claudia Tally is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

A woman has been arrested for the alleged murder of two young children whose remains were discovered in suitcases in Manurewa, South Auckland, last month.

New Zealand police can now confirm that a 42-year-old woman has been arrested in South Korea.

Counties Manukau CIB detective inspector Tofilau Fa’ amanuia Vaaelua said South Korean authorities arrested the woman today on a Korean arrest warrant on two charges of murder relating to the two young victims.

• READ MORE: Clendon Park case: How forensic investigators work

The arrest warrant was issued by the Korean courts as a result of a request by NZ police for an arrest warrant under the extradition treaty between New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.

He said NZ police had applied to have her extradited back to New Zealand to face the charges and had requested she remain in custody while awaiting the completion of the extradition process.

“To have someone in custody overseas within such a short period of time has all been down to the assistance of the Korean authorities and the coordination by our NZ Police Interpol staff,” he said.

There were a number of enquiries to be completed both in New Zealand and overseas, he added.

Police said the children, believed to be aged between five and 10 years old, may have been hidden in the suitcases in an Auckland storage yard for several years.

The bodies were discovered on 11 August 2022 after a Clendon Park family won an auction for abandoned goods in a storage unit, without realising what was inside.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

The United Liberation Movement of West Papua has condemned the brutal killing and mutilation of four indigenous West Papuans last week, saying it was a “a reminder of Indonesian colonialism”, as authorities announced the arrest of six special forces suspects.

News agency reports said Indonesian security forces had arrested the six elite troopers who had been accused of involvement in the killing of four Papuans and beheading them.

An Australian newspaper report said the accused’s military unit had a link with the Australian Defence Force.

• READ MORE: Indonesian troops accused of killing, mutilating 4 Papuans
• Other West Papuan human rights reports

“We are committed to upholding the law in this case,” Papua military chief Major-General Teguh Muji Angkasa told reporters in Jayapura, the capital of Papua province.

“If any of our soldiers are involved in criminal acts, we will not tolerate it.”

Residents of Iwaka village in Mimika district were shocked on Friday by the discovery of four sacks, each containing a headless and legless torso, in the village river.

Two other sacks were found separately, one containing four heads and the other eight legs. The sacks were weighted with stones.

‘Heartbreaking’ reports
In a statement, ULMWP interim president Benny Wenda said it was “heartbreaking” to hear that the four Papuans had been killed and mutilated by Indonesian special forces. The four were named as Arnold Lokmbere, Irian Nirigi, Lemanion Nirigi, and Atis Tini.

“This brutal killing must be seen for what it is: state sponsored terrorism,” he said.

“My people have always rejected Jakarta’s impositions, from the “Act of No Choice” in 1969 to the so-called “Special Autonomy” that rules over us today.

“Indonesia knows West Papuans will never accept their colonial rule. Instead, they must enforce it at the barrel of a gun.

Wenda said the killings, which had happened in Timika regency, in West Papua’s highlands, exposed the racism at the heart of Indonesian rule.

“After shooting the four men, soldiers cut off their heads and legs, stuffed them in sacks, and dumped them in a village river.

“How can people be seen as human if they are treated in this way? Indonesia views us as ‘primitive’, as ‘monkeys’. They have always wanted to get us ‘down from the trees’.

Rivers uses as ‘tombs’
Wenda said this was not the first time “our rivers have been used as our tombs”.

In 2020, Pastor Yeremia Zanambani in the Intan Jaya regency was tortured and killed by the Indonesian military.

Following this, soldiers killed two of Pastor Zanambani’s family members, burning their bodies and throwing the ashes into a river to hide the evidence.

Since 2019, there had been frequent examples of Indonesia’s “systematic brutality in West Papua”.

‘We have seen Papuan students murdered by Indonesian death squads, babies shot and killed, civilians in Nduga executed in military-style operations,” Wenda said.

“The history of Indonesian rule in West Papua is written in the blood of my people.”

Wenda said that although Indonesian police had arrested six special forces suspected of being responsible for the crime, “we know from the death of Theys Eluay that soldiers charged with extrajudicial killing regularly receive light sentences – and are often welcomed as heroes by their military superiors”.

“In Indonesia, peacefully raising the Morning Star flag is a worse crime than murdering indigenous West Papuans in cold blood.”

Justice call
Wenda called for justice to be done for these four slain men and their families. He declared the following demands:

• Indonesia must release all political prisoners, including the eight students who have been held since December 2021 for peacefully demonstrating on our national day;
• Indonesia must allow journalists to operate in West Papua;
• Indonesia must stop the delaying tactics and honour their promise to allow the UN High Commissioner to visit West Papua, as also demanded by the Pacific Islands Forum, the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States, and the EU Commission; and
• Indonesia must allow our right to self-determination and grant West Papua an internationally-monitored Independence Referendum.

Radio broadcaster Federico “Ding” Gempesaw has been shot and killed in broad daylight in front of his home in Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City, Mindanao, reports the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

The IFJ and its affiliate, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), condemn the murder and urge the local authorities to immediately bring the perpetrators to justice.

Gempesaw was a political commentator and host of the daily block-time programme Bitayan Sa Kahanginan, which aired on the local community radio network Radyo Natin.

According to the police report, two masked gunmen shot at Gempesaw on June 29. One of the perpetrators shot him at close range after Gempesaw stepped down from his taxi, which he owned and drove.

Although he was wounded, Gempesaw wrestled with one assailant before a second bullet hit his head. He died at the scene.

According to witnesses, the murderers fled on a motorcycle without a licence plate.

Gempesaw is the third radio broadcaster to be killed in Mindanao this year. In January, Jaynard Angeles, a station manager of Radyo Natin, was shot dead in Carmen, Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, by unidentified suspects.

On April 24, Jhannah Villegas was killed in the town of Datu Anggal Midtimbang, in Maguindanao province. Like Gempesaw, Villegas was also a block-time broadcaster on Radyo Ukay in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato.

Latest blow
The NUJP said Gempesaw’s murder is the latest blow to press freedom in the Philippines.

The term of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who left office on June 30, has been characterised by attacks on the media, including the murder of journalists, blocking access to alternative media, and red-tagging.

The NUJP said: “The brutal murder of Gempesaw has no place in a democratic society, and we demand that the police leave no stone unturned and bring the perpetrators, as well as the mastermind, to justice.”

IFJ general secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: “The IFJ condemns the killing of Federico Gempesaw. The authorities must take immediate action to investigate the murder and bring those responsible to justice. We also urge the government of the Philippines to take the strongest efforts to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers.”

Israel’s fatal shooting of leading Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh as she covered clashes in the West Bank city of Jenin is a serious violation of the Geneva Conventions and UN Security Council Resolution 2222 on the protection of journalists, says the Paris-based media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

It has called for an independent international investigation into her death as soon as possible.

Witnesses said Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American, was killed by a shot to the head although she was wearing a bulletproof vest with the word “PRESS” that clearly identified her as a journalist.

• READ MORE: John Minto: NZ government and media must own up to their silence over Shireen Abu Akleh
• Behind the tears for Shireen, more evidence of Israel’s daily crimes with impunity
• Photos: Israeli forces attack Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral
• Other Shireen Abu Akleh reports

Ali al-Samudi, a Palestinian journalist working as an Al Jazeera producer who was beside her at the time, was also targeted, sustaining a gunshot wound in the back, RSF reported.

Samudi, who is now in hospital, said in a video: “We were filming. They did not ask us to stop filming or to leave. They fired a shot that hit me and another shot that killed Shireen in cold blood.”

Following Abu Akleh’s death, Israeli security forces raided her East Jerusalem home as her family was making arrangements for her funeral.

Her body was transferred to Nablus for an autopsy prior to be taken to Jerusalem, where her funeral took place yesterday in emotional scenes with massive crowds. She was buried beside her parents in Mount Zion.

Israeli riot police attacked the pallbearers and a hearse carrying her coffin in the peaceful march, and ripped away Palestinian flags. International protests have followed this latest attack.

Popular in Middle East
Abu Akleh was very popular in the Middle East and was respected by fellow journalists for her experience in the field.

Al Jazeera issued a statement accusing the Israeli security forces of “deliberately” targeting Abu Akleh and of killing her “in cold blood.”

The Israel Defence Forces announced an investigation into her death, but IDF spokesman Amnon Shefler said Israeli soldiers “would never deliberately target non-combatants”.

Several witnesses, including an AFP photographer, denied seeing any armed Palestinians at the place where Abu Akleh was killed. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said he held the Israeli authorities “fully responsible” for her death.

“RSF is not satisfied with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s proposal of a joint investigation into this journalist’s death,” said RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

“An independent international investigation must be launched as soon as possible.”

The shooting of these two Palestinian reporters during an IDF “anti-terrorist operation” in Jenin is the latest of many disturbing cases.

Two journalists fatally shot
In the spring of 2018, two Palestinian journalists were fatally shot by Israeli snipers while covering the weekly “Great March of Return” protests near the Israeli border in the Gaza Strip.

Also in 2018, Ain Media founder Yaser Murtaja was killed on the spot on March 30, while Radio Sawt al Shabab reporter Ahmed Abu Hussein died in hospital on April 25 from the gunshot injury he suffered on April 13.

According to RSF’s tallies, more than 140 journalists have been the victims of violations by the Israeli security forces on Friday’s marches since 2018, and at least 30 journalists have been killed since 2000.

Israel is 86th in the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index, and Palestine is 170th.

And now they won’t even let one of Palestine’s giants in journalism have a dignified and peaceful funeral — all in plain sight. (There’s a reason Reporters Without Borders ranks Israel 86th in Press Freedom.) https://t.co/y8SLL1qY7P

— Abdallah Fayyad (@abdallah_fayyad) May 13, 2022

Pacific Media Watch collaborates with Reporters Without Borders.

A Papua New Guinean primary school teacher has been arrested for allegedly torturing a woman with a hot knife in sorcery-related violence in Southern Highlands’ Kagua Erave last year.

Southern Highlands commander Chief Inspector Daniel Yangen said the 35-year-old teacher, from Aiya’s Pawayamo village, was arrested on Monday.

He said the teacher was sighted in Mendi town by an informant who alerted the Mendi Criminal Investigation Department.

• READ MORE: Other PNG sorcery-related reports

The teacher is charged with three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and five counts of kidnapping.

Chief Inspector Yangen said the three women who died from the sorcery-torture had been identified as Yondopame Kama, Nancy Gibson and Bale Mana. The two survivors are Magdah Michael and Maria Cedric.

He said the five women were accused of killing a man through sorcery and were held captive on December 4 in Pawayamo village.

Three died from injuries suffered in the ordeal and the two survivors are now under police protection.

Video went viral
Chief Inspector Yangen said the teacher was believed to have pressed a hot knife onto the body of Mana who was crying in the middle of video a that went viral on social media. Mana died.

“The teacher was clearly identified in the last part of the video wearing a black round neck shirt, long trousers carrying a bilum bag,” Chief Inspector Yangen said.

“He is armed with a bush knife with his left hand which he used in the middle of the video with a piece of cloth as mask covering his face to protect his identity and [sunglasses] on his head.

“A well-educated man is supposed to educate and refrain people from humiliating innocent mothers and women in public. We will hunt down his accomplices,” Chief Inspector Yangen said.

“The first arrest in the murders was a ward councillor charged under the Summary Offences Act for obstruction of police duties. He is now out on K500 court bail.

“Our next target is the Usa ward councillor. He was the one who assured Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Anton Billie that he would work with the police to identify the suspects, but has gone into hiding.

‘More arrests soon’
“We will continue with investigations and more arrests will be made soon. We will not rest until the uncivilised perpetrators are arrested.”

He said police needed help from the local government presidents, councillors, village court magistrates, women leaders and church groups to provide information to arrest the suspects.

The video of the torture of the women posted on social media prompted urgent police investigations.

The United Nations condemned the recent sorcery accusation-related violence and called for the immediate prosecution of those responsible.

Republished with permission.

The family of Pastor Yeremia Zanambani who was killed in Intan Jaya, Papua, on September 19 last year has agreed to an autopsy being conducted with certain conditions.

“[First] that the autopsy be done by an independent medical team, which has been agreed to by the victim’s family,” said a member of the family’s team of lawyers, Yohanis Mambrasar, in his explanation.

The other condition is that the autopsy be done fairly and transparently and be observed by the victim’s family, the victim’s lawyer and witnesses, as well as independent organisations.

• READ MORE: Other West Papua reports

The independent organisations referred to include the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), the Papua Coalition for Law Enforcement and Human Rights, Amnesty International Indonesia, the Intan Jaya regency Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) and the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI).

Finally, the family is asking that the autopsy be done in Hitadipa district, Intan Jaya.

Mambrasar said that a letter by the family agreeing to the autopsy was personally handed over to investigators and accepted by the head of the Intan Jaya district police criminal investigation unit in Nabire, on February 12.

Mambrasar added that the letter was signed by Zanambani’s widow, Mariam Zoani, along with the deceased’s two children, Yedida Zanambani and Rode Zanambani.

‘investigators must fulfill family request’
“We’re pushing the investigators to do the autopsy properly, fairly and transparently. The investigators must fulfill the family’s request,” he said.

Mambrasar also hopes that the case will be able to proceed to trial.

“Following this the legal process can be pushed on to the next criminal investigation stage and be followed up with a criminal prosecution and hearing in a human rights court, as per the victim’s family’s request,” he said.

Previously, the family had refused to allow an autopsy to be conducted for cultural reasons. Local people believe that a body which has already been buried should not be removed from the grave.

Moreover, if a body is exhumed, according to local community beliefs, it will result in calamity for the dead person’s family.

“An autopsy of our father’s body very much conflicts with our culture. If an autopsy is done something bad will happened to us, and this of course will further add to our burden,” said Rode Zanambani in a written statement on November 11, 2020.

Testimonies sufficient
In addition to this, the family believes that the testimonies of witnesses, including local people, the testimonies of experts, preliminary and material evidence is sufficient to solve the case.

As has been reported, there are suspicions of the involvement of security personnel in the killing as revealed in reports by both the Intan Jaya Joint Fact Finding Team (TGPF) and Komnas HAM.

The TGPF, which was formed by the government, revealed the involvement of security personnel in Zanambani’s shooting, although it also raised the possibility that the killing was committed by a third party.

According to Komnas HAM report meanwhile, the perpetrator who tortured and murdered Zanambani and thereby committed an extrajudicial killing is suspected to be a senior officer with the Hitadipa sub-district military command (Koramil).

Notes
Although the government sanctioned TGPF only said that it found indications of the involvement of security personnel in Zanambani’s murder, the Komnas HAM investigation explicitly named Zanambani’s murderer as being Hitadipa sub-district military commander Chief Sergeant Alpius Hasim Madi. Komnas HAM said that Zanambani was killed while being interrogated on the whereabouts of an Indonesian military assault rifle seized two days earlier during an exchange of fire with the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. The original title of the article was “Keluarga Setuju Jenazah Pendeta Yeremia Diotopsi dengan Sejumlah Syarat”.

An Indonesian government-sanctioned joint fact-finding team has reported that it found indications that security forces were involved in the shooting of Papuan pastor Yeremia Zanambani after investigating a series of shootings in Intan Jaya regency, Papua.

The team gave its findings to the Office of the Coordinating Political, Legal and Human Rights Minister this week and Coordinating Minister Mahfud MD disclosed several key points from the 14-day investigation.

“Regarding the killing of pastor Yeremia Zanambani on September 19, the information and facts obtained by the team in the field indicate the alleged involvement of elements of security forces, even though there’s also a possibility that a third party was behind [the killing],” Mahfud said during a press conference.

• READ MORE: Murder of Intan Jaya pastor part of series of violence: Komnas HAM
• Military accused of shooting dead a Papuan pastor

Additionally, the team reported that an “armed criminal group” – a description frequently given to pro-independence rebels – was allegedly behind the killings of two military officers and a civilian on September 17.

Mahfud said the government would follow up on the findings, ordering the National Police and Attorney-General’s Office to solve the cases by following the applicable criminal and state administrative laws.

The coordinating minister would also pass on the findings to the National Police, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the State Intelligence Agency for further investigation.

Furthermore, Mahfud also recommended that the government equip vulnerable areas with better security to provide safety to locals.

No witnesses found
National Police Commission (Kompolnas) head and fact-finding team chief Benny Mamoto said that the team found no eyewitnesses of Zanambani’s killer and that the team was open to all possibilities regarding who was behind the killings.

“There are findings from this fact-finding team that are very, very significant. From my perspective, it should not take [law enforcement] a long time to start investigating them,” Mamoto said during the conference.

The team concluded its field investigation last week after conducting crime scene investigations and questioning around 42 witnesses.

During the fieldwork, two members of the team, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) lecturer Bambang Purwoko and TNI soldier First Sgt. Faisal Akbar, were wounded after being shot at by a pro-independence group, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).

Previously, the Indonesian Communion of Churches, the Indonesian Evangelical Christian Church (GKII) and local media in Papua said that Zanambani was allegedly shot by TNI personnel on his way to his pig pen on September 19, at the same time a military operation was reportedly taking place.

Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie reports for The Jakarta Post.

A Papua New Guinea court has given police three more weeks to submit their evidence against Bosip Kaiwi, who is accused of the murder of his partner in a high-profile case that shocked the nation – or their defence lawyer will be allowed to apply that it be dismissed.

Kaiwi, 25, of Minj, South Waghi, Jiwaka, appeared in court for the third time yesterday since his arrest on June 25.

He is charged with the wilful murder of his partner, Jenelyn Kennedy, the mother of their two children, on June 23 in Port Moresby.

READ MORE: PNG health survey finds that 56% of women suffer violence at age 15

Magistrate Tracy Ganaii yesterday told police prosecutor Chief Sergeant Polon Koniu at the Committal Court in Waigani that the three months normally given to police to complete investigations would end on September 30.

She therefore adjourned the case to October 1.

Koniu submitted in a court a letter from investigating officer Detective Senior Constable Yaku Gwampom seeking another adjournment.

Covid-19 delays
Gwampom explained in the letter that the investigation was taking a long time because of the covid-19 social distancing restrictions and that he needed more time to:

• Get a doctor’s affidavit and interview one more doctor;
• Get photos and statements from the forensic crime scene examiner;
• Complete editing of statements;
• Get statements from other witnesses; and
• Get CCTV footage from the Port Moresby General Hospital.

Kaiwi’s lawyer, Samuel Inisi, of Inisi Lawyers did not object to the adjournment but indicated that he would submit “appropriate applications” on October 1 if police files were still not ready then.

Magistrate Ganaii said she allowed the adjournment because the three months police were allowed to complete investigations had not lapsed.

“If a case goes past three months, by practice, the defendant is automatically entitled to be discharged, unless the prosecutor have very good reasons to justify why there should be a further adjournment,” she said.

‘More work needed’
“The court has received that letter and considered that there is more work to be done on the investigations.”

She noted defence lawyer Inisi’s comments that he could ask the court that Kaiwi be discharged for want of police file on October 1.

“The court will consider the application when it’s made at the appropriate time,” she said.
Kaiwi was alleged to have tortured his partner between June 18 and 23.

She died on June 23 after five days of alleged assault.

Her body was left at the Port Moresby General Hospital where a doctor pronounced her dead.

Kaiwi was arrested and charged on June 25.

The Pacific Media Centre republishes The National articles with permission.

• More gender-based violence reports in Papua New Guinea