Police in the Milne Bay Province will investigate and arrest those responsible for the Milne Bay hostage hoax.
Provincial Police Commander Chief Superintendent Joseph Morehari said the hostage hoax spread like wildfire and shocked the nation. It even gave the peaceful province a very negative image overseas.
He said an international cruise ship had to be diverted, thus costing the local tourism industry a lot of money. He added that it is not known how much damage this hoax will have caused to the local economy in the immediate and long term.
“We are investigating how it happened and we will deal with those responsible for creating the hoax,” Chief Superintendent Morehari said.
It was initially reported at about 9am on Monday (August 1) that eight people were held hostage in the four buildings that housed a number of businesses, including PNG Air and The National Mapping Bureau.
He said Milne Bay police used the hostage–rescue approach and eventually entered the buildings and “freed” four PNG Air staff and four staff members of the National Mapping Bureau.
“I think it was the right approach police took given the initial information received.
“Apparently someone had reported that there was a robbery taking place inside the PNG Air office. A crowd gathered outside. Police came on site and the PNG Air staff saw the build-up of people outside and locked themselves in,” explains Morehari.
“We tear-gassed the building and entered through. Eventually we cleared every room of each building at about 3pm only to find that this was not a hostage situation.
“However, there was an attempted robbery at the PNG Air office, which prompted the staff to lock the doors,” the Provincial Police Commander said.
He said Alotau town yesterday resumed normal operations, with shops and business houses opening.
Meanwhile, this morning PNG Air management issued a media statement confirming that an armed hold up had taken place at their office in Alotau.
PNG Air CEO Muralee Siva said: “On Monday morning, three female PNG Air staff members were held up by two men armed with a home-made pistol and bush knife at our booking office in Alotau.
“A small amount of cash was taken during the hold up.
“The three staff managed to barricade themselves in an office before being rescued by the police.”