Magistrate Alex Kalandi

Magistrate concerned about no-show of defendants

Alex Kalandi, a senior magistrate who presides over Summary offense matters said he will be raising the issue at the next Magistrates and Police Prosecutors meeting at the end of the month regarding the non-appearance of defenders.

He said a lot of people are being charged over summary offences but do not appear in court.

“If there is no purpose of them coming to court then there is no purpose of them being charged,” he said.

Bail decision for deported refugee pending

Sawari is the refugee who was deported to PNG on Friday February 3 from Fiji. He went to court proposing bail to be granted at K500.

 He was transported to the CIS facility at Bomana soon after the court hearing, where he will be remanded in separate confinement till Tuesday.

He was remanded at the Boroko Police station holding cell on Thursday night. The cell is currently undergoing renovation and police allowed for him to be confined there for only one night.

Refugee appear in court over drug charge

He briefly appeared in court without a lawyer before Magistrate Alex Kalandi on Friday.

The 31-year-old was arrested and charged on January 10 over allegations of being in possession of marijuana. A charge that falls under section 3(1)(d) of the Dangerous Drugs Act.

Movafagh’s matter was listed for mention on Thursday, however it was stood over to Friday to give time for relevant court documents to be sorted.

Bring client to court, lawyer told

Magistrate Alex Kalandi told the lawyer representing Anita Ting Mee Siong to bring her to court when the matter next returns for mention on Feb 6.

The 34-year-old from Sibu, Sarawak city, Malaysia has not appeared in court since her arrest on Dec 12 and 23 respectively. Her case has been listed for mention four times since her arrest.

Siong’s lawyer was present in court for the first time today but without the defendant. She is expected to be charged by police this week with an additional charge.

Porn case ruling today

The 58-year-old man (name withheld) from New Ireland province appeared in court on Monday. However, his case was adjourned to Tuesday because the police prosecutor handling his case was not present in court.

Magistrate Alex Kalandi, in adjourning the case, told the defendant yesterday that his ruling on verdict was ready to be delivered.

The defendant was arrested on Oct 21, 2016, and charged with being in possession of pornographic articles.