The young men who were apprehended by Police at Six-Mile and Saraga a week ago say they were beaten and locked up, but were not told of why they were detained nor charged.
One of them was Aina Jerry, who allegedly died from injuries he sustained from the beatings he took.
On Tuesday July 21st, two of them, George Ona and Oscar Peter, came out in the media and gave their side of the story.
“Taim Aina kam lo Mosbi, em bin gat rasta. Lo Wednesday em tok mitla ba go lo baba lo Fo-Mail lo katim gras,” Ona recalled.
“Mitupla wokabaut kam bek bikos em leit pinis so mitla laik wokabaut go lo haus. Mipla kam na mipla bungim Oscar lo rot na mipla wokabaut wantaim. By the time mipla wokabaut kam lo roundabout lo 2-4, em ol Six-Mail Tiger (Six-Mile police) ol go antap. Taim ol abrusim mipla, ol kisim breik na tanim lo roundabout. Ol kam bek ken na tokim mipla ‘Sanap’.
“Mipla no holim wanplan samting, o attempt lo wanpla kar o, mipla just wokabaut tasol na kam. Taim ol tokim mipla lo sanap em mipla sanap. Mipla no trabol man so mipla sanap. Taim ol tokim mipla lo silip go daun em Aina Jerry em run. Em run so ol Tiger ronim em. Seim taim em osem ol Saraga Lion (Saraga police) tu em ol kam antap, Fox 2. Ol kam antap lo hap so Six-Mail Tiger larim mitupla lo han blo ol Fox na ol ronim Aina.
“Taim ol ronim em (Aina) kam daun lo hap em, mipla no save wanem samting hepen insait lo hap. Mitupla ol putim mitla lo road, ol slipim mipla go daun, ol kikim mitla, paitim mitla.
“Ol Fox karim mitla kam lo bas stop, putim mitla lo bas stop, mipla slip lo bas stop lo ai blo olgeta femli na kominiti. Mipla slip na stap. Aina Jerry em ol ronim em kam insait lo Koiari blok na wanem samting ol wokim lo em lo hap em mipla no save. Mitla slip lo bas stop road stap na ol karim Aina kam na putim em insait lo kar na mitupla tu.
“Taim ol karim mipla go lo road em olsem ol yusim ol hevi object lo paitim mipla. Beibol (bet) na kriket bet. Ol (paitim) bros blo Aina wantaim kriket bet ten o fiftinpla taim. Ol kisim mipla go lo steisen na lokim mipla,” Ona stated.
One woman, Miti Yapu, who resides at Koiari block, did see what happened to Aina.
She was sitting in front of her house going about her market sales when Aina was chased by police into her yard.
“Mi sidaun frant lo haus na maket na polis ronim em (Aina) kam insait. Em ron kam insait em ol polis tu ol ron kam na ol igo ol holim em tasol. Em sarenda pinis, ol holim em, na karim em kam daun, ol paitim em (na em) pudaun frant lo haus blo mi tasol.
“Lo hap nau, ol stat yusim as blo gan, bat blo gan, tripla taim ol (paitim) baksait blong em, ol kikim em ken. Na pikinini man yah em singaut ‘Aiyo mama’. Then ol holim shet na apim em, pusim em go lo kar, em kalap insait, em laik sidaun ol tokim em ‘no, yu silip go daun’, so em silip go daun lo kar na ol kalap. Insait lo kar ol karim em go na wokim wanem long em, em mi no save,” she said.
Meantime, Ona and Peter said those who locked them up in the cell took the keys away.
On Thursday morning, the officer on shift (named) could not open the cell to release them and so had to break the lock to let them out.
“Lo moning ol femli blo mipla kam lo steisen. Ol femli bungim K460 na givim lo polisman (named). Tasol em tokim ol lo edim K140 mo, na mipla bai kamaut, tasol femli tok ol nogat moa mani, so em brukim lok na mipla kamaut na em tokim mipla lo go lo haus,” Ona said.
While they were in the cell, both Ona and Peter said Aina did not speak nor move when they tried to wake him up.
“Ol polisman lo moning fosim mitupla lo apim (Aina) na karim em kam autsaid. Mipla apim em, karim em kam autsaid, na karim em go lo Six-Mail klinik, na ol chek-ap lo em na ol rashim em go lo hausik,” he explained.
Earlier in the morning before they were released, a doctor from the clinic was called in to check on Aina, they said.
“Nait yet Oscar singaut lo help but ol tok nogat. Moning tasol mipla singaut na ol man lo moning ol singautim wanpla dokta lo klinik kam…bun blo (Aina) buruk so, ol tokim mipla lo apim em kam klostu lo (cell) bar, bikos nogat ki lo opim lock. Mipla apim em go klostu na dokta just pasim lek blem tasol.”
When the three were released, they were neither charged nor told of their offence.
According to the statement released by Acting Metropolitan Superintendent Christopher Tamari, on Tuesday 21st July, Aina and his companions were among three others arrested by police for an alleged armed robbery that occurred last Wednesday.
Tamari also stated that Aina and three of his accomplices were arrested and detained, but Aina unfortunately died on Saturday.
He said police were responding to a car robbery when they picked up the suspects, including the deceased.
In his statement, there were three others among them, but these three had fled the scene and are still at large.
He also said the St John Ambulance were called to the police station to take Aina to the Port Moresby General Hospital.
The St John Ambulance confirmed responding to a patient fitting this description on Thursday 16th July, and not Friday as stated by Tamari.
On Tuesday also, the Commissioner of Police David Manning called on the Police Internal Affairs Directorate to immediately carry out investigations into Aina’s death.
“For too long, internal issues and petty politics have denied justice and policing services to our people and it is time we put a stop to this. We do not have double standards in this country or two sets of laws and thus investigations whether of police officers or civilians must be carried out without compromising and delaying their outcome,” he stated.
“I have ordered a senior officer of the Constabulary and his team to set the standards for the Constabulary going forward and they have already commenced this task.”
(George Ona, left, and Oscar Peter, third left, during a media briefing)