Doctors are also part of the PNG APEC committees and they do not wish to affect the flow of these international meetings if they protest the recent attack on their colleague.
That is why the police have been given 10 days – starting on May 22 – to arrest and bring to court the 6 men who attacked Dr Dean Wahembari on Saturday evening.
Dr Wahembari was at North Waigani to pick up his son when he was attacked by a PNG Defence Force soldier and his cohorts.
After placing a report at the Waigani Police Station, the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Registrar was admitted at the Port Moresby General Hospital with trauma to his right eye, loss of vision and a fractured nose.
While the PNGDF and police have given their assurance that appropriate actions will be taken, the National Doctors Association has voiced concerns that the issue might eventually be forgotten, with the perpetrators walking off scot-free.
“We have seen in the past where cases dealing with police, CI (Correctional Institute) or with military come and then slowly die down,” Dr James Naipao, National Doctors Association President, said.
“We don’t want such things to happen therefore the 10-day deadline stands.”
It is believed that the instigator was upset over the passing of his father last year, who was managed by the Ear, Nose and Throat team.
However, Dr Naipao says the ENT team should not be blamed for the death of his father, who suffered from stage 4 cancer of the tongue.
He said there are proper ways to handle the situation rather than attack the training registrar.
(Dr James Naipao, National Doctors Association President)