Five men charged in relation to the looting of a cash machine in Waigani on January 10th, but released from custody on Monday April 8th will still face court to defend charges against them.
Commissioner of Police, David Manning said the release of the five on court orders came about due to unacceptable administrative shortcomings that are being resolved as part of ongoing reforms in the NCD/Central Command.
“This situation is unacceptable. The five men will be arrested again and brought back before the Courts to answer for their actions, in accordance with the law,” he said.
He said the accused were not supposed to be released back to the community, but the court had to follow its processes.
Manning said Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary takes full responsibility for the factors contributing to this situation.
He said the suspects have been held in remand at Bomana Prison but due to transport problems, it prevented them from attending to their court cause.
“Currently the Court facility at Bomana is not being used for court proceedings, so transport must be arranged depending on court case loads.
“The high security transportation of prisoners are several issues that has plagued the NCD/Central Command over the last three years.
“Many of the prisoners on remand, that require transportation back into Port Moresby, are desperate individuals that will use any means to escape custody.
“I have directed the immediate strengthening of systems by NCD/Central Command to ensure prisoners can be transported in a secured manner and effective judicial systems are supported.
“Until this matter is properly resolved, the focus of police will continue to be to secure transportation of prisoners, and the highest levels of accountability for those responsible for the delivery of community policing services in our nations capital,” Manning added.