A police officer was robbed while controlling traffic in Madang on the eve of Easter.
Officer in Charge of Traffic in Madang, Sergeant Frank Makora, was attacked while controlling traffic at the crossing near Modilon Hospital.
He said he hung his bag (bilum) with his personnel effects on a nearby wall when a thug grabbed his bag and ran towards the public cemetery.
"I was controlling the pedestrians when this happened. Bystanders informed me of my bag being snatched and I chased the thug," he said.
During the chase, the officer tripped and fell. The thug then punched him and took off again.
No one bothered to come to the sergeant’s aid.
Provincial Police Commander, Superintendent Jacob Singura, was upset after receiving news of his OIC Traffic’s attack.
He was simply doing his duty to control the pedestrians so that there is free movement of vehicles, said Singura.
Crossing has become a problem because every single day, the queue grows from the hospital all the way to Yomba, or if they are coming from the town way, it goes as far as the cemetery.
"Every day the queue is always long so that’s why we control the pedestrians," stated the PPC.
Sgt Makora suffered a swollen forehead from the incident. He has been given medical attention at the Modilon Hospital.