The Waigani Committal Court has refused an application moved last week by Immigration asking the court to hand over the passport of a Malay man currently facing misappropriation charges in court.
The court today ruled that Immigration and the chief migration officer had no standing in their application and refused to grant orders to hand over the passport of businessman, Peter Ling Koh Woo, so he can be deported.
Woo was allegedly ordered by the chief migration officer to be deported from the country within seven days of the notice being served. His lawyer, Greg Sheppard, told the court last week that his client was never served the order.
However, soon after the hearing of his case this morning, Police, in the company of immigration staff, stepped in to arrest Woo outside the court house.
Resisting arrest, his lawyer, Sheppard, was pushed back into the door of the same courtroom he came out from, interrupting the case still being heard in court room 9 of the District Court.
Woo was later escorted by his lawyers and police into a police vehicle where he was taken away.
Arrested in Port Moresby in February, his passport was confiscated by the court registry officers to ensure he does not leave the country until his case that is currently at the Committal Court is dealt with.
He was arrested and charged for false pretense, misappropriation and two counts of attempts to pervert justice.
It is alleged that while employed as a managing director of a company between Oct 11, 2012, and Oct 7, 2015, at the Waigani Village, he dishonestly applied to his own use, the use of his personal company Ever Green Limited an amount of K352,794.73.
It is also alleged that between the same period, by false pretence and with intent to defraud the company he worked for, provided a financial guarantee in his capacity as a managing director when he knew very well he had no authority to give such guarantee to his personal company.
Woo is also facing immigration charges at the Boroko District Court. He has not been appearing at the Boroko courthouse and is yet to be arraigned.
(Caption: Woo outside the court house after his case. He is also seen below being escorted into a police vehicle.)
