Public Prosecutor

When her office phone rang recently, she was delighted to find it was a senior Royal PNG Constabulary fraud investigator seeking the OPP’s feedback on whether he was on track in seeking to crack an important fraud case.

The police officer’s call to Roalakona came the morning after a three-day workshop on fraud investigation and prosecution, organised by the OPP with support from the PNG-Australia Partnership.

In clarifying his role in relation to handling high profile cases, Kaluwin says if a leader’s conduct amounts to committing a crime, they may be prosecuted under those two sets of laws.

“People may be high profile, others may be little men on the street, and the law applies equally to all,” he explained.

“No one is superior before the law. So when people say we treat people differently from leaders, it’s not perfectly true. Leaders have a code that is covering them (leadership code), and the criminal code that also covers leaders.

He was presented the instruments of appointment to take office on Wednesday morning.

As per the instruments, his reappointment was based on the outstanding performance as the incumbent public prosecutor.

He addressed the department and media soon after, thanking the Judicial & Legal Services Commission for its confidence and its recognition in his ability to lead the organization for another term.

Kaluwin thanked the team that supported him through the last six years and asked for their undivided support in the next six.

The adjournment was given this morning by member of the tribunal, after Namah’s lawyer Greg Sheppard and the Public Prosecutor Pondros Kaluwin said they were not formally given the notice.

Apart from media reports being run on the announcement of the tribunal on September 28, parties told Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Terrence Higgins, that they are yet to receive the notice of that appointment.

In a statement released today, the OC said it decided to refer Sir Bernard to the Public Prosecutor for an independent deliberation following its investigation of alleged misconduct in office.

Chief Ombudsman Michael Dick said in the statement that the referral is now in the hands of the Public Prosecutor, who has the discretion either to bring, or decline to bring, the proceeding, under the Leadership Code, for alleged misconduct in office in accordance to section 177(1)(b) of the Constitution.

A full Supreme Court Bench responded to six questions referred by Justice Collin Makail and five questions referred by the Attorney General and Justice David Cannings, in matters concerning Prime Minister Peter O’Neil’s referral by the Ombudsman Commission over the UBS loan.

Public Prosecutor Pondros Kaluwin elected his case to go forward to the National Court under section 526 of the Criminal Code despite the Goroka District Court dismissing his case for insufficient evidence in Nov 27 last year.

Whilst there has been an increasing number of cases listed before the Waigani Committal Court on the improper use of ICT services, who is responsible for the prosecution of those cases is yet to be finalised.

This will have to be finalised between the office of the Public Prosecutor, the Police Prosecution office and the National Information & Communications Technology Authority.

The NICTA act includes the abuse of ICT services to insult or cause annoyance to another person.