Central New Ireland

Charles Bruno Sepmorong, who is in his 30s, from Bungbeve Village, Namatanai District, is wanted by Konos police for break-and-enter and stealing, cultivation of marijuana, possession of dangerous marijuana, damages caused to the Konos holding cell and escaping lawful custody.

Police say he is also a threat to his immediate family after he allegedly threatened to kill his brother and parents.

Konos police reported that a call was received at 10.15pm on Monday that the suspect was at Laur Primary School in Namatanai.

The three-day festival is a gazetted provincial event and was recently recognized in 2021 as a National event under the Tourism Promotion Authority’s Calendar.

Chairman of the Provincial Event Committee and event organizer, John Merebo said preparations are well underway with local and international tourists already showing interests to attend and witness this ancient festival.

The event is being organized by the locals with funding support from the New Ireland Government. The New Ireland Celebration’s Committee has set Monday, 17th July as the main event.

A local woman from the area, Naomi Watong, told Loop PNG that the provincial disaster office staff visited their village on Saturday (April 16) and are yet to get back to them.

She said the people have been restrained from using the sea because of the awful smell from the dead creatures.

“We are still waiting on the disaster office to tell us the cause of the dead creatures. For now we have not been using the sea because it is very smelly,” she said.

She added that the sea is also getting hotter and very oily.