A policeman is one of four suspects arrested and charged for the wilful murder of a 45-year-old female from Kaulenge Village in Imbonggu District, Southern Highlands Province.
Southern Highlands Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Daniel Yangen, said Constable Mai Pale, the husband of the deceased, and three male teenagers are from Koroba in Hela Province.
PPC Yangen said all four suspects were informed of their Constitutional rights under section 42(2) of the PNG Constitution and placed in the police cell in Mendi.
It was alleged that on 14th March at around 8.30pm, the main suspect and the deceased had an argument in their house at the Kaupena Highway Patrol 17 base police Barracks in Imbonggu. During the argument, the suspect and the deceased came out of their house, where the suspect allegedly kicked his wife in her right rib. The deceased then fell to the ground. This is when the main suspect allegedly picked up a stone and hit her on the left side of her head.
It is alleged that the three younger suspects then kicked the deceased all over her body while she was lying on the ground unconscious.
PPC Yangen said relatives of the deceased intervened but the suspects threatened them with a machete and kitchen knives, before they left the scene of the crime.
The deceased was taken to the Kaupena health centre the next day, where she was then referred to the Mt Hagen General Hospital for further treatment. She died while in hospital. .