David Manning

He made the call whilst condemning the latest killing of a policeman in the gold mining township of Porgera in Enga Province.

“I have said it before and I will say it again, we cannot have policemen attacked and killed in such manner by criminal members of society. The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary is the embodiment of Government and State and an attack on police is an attack on these institutions,” stated the Commissioner.

Manning made this comment in the wake of increasing attacks on police officers around the country. In the recent incident last night, two members of the Mt Hagen based Mobile Squad 5 deployed to Porgera in the Enga Province were ambushed and shot by a band of more than 30 gunmen from the Hela Province.

One of the policeman was shot in the head. The second policeman was shot in his upper right thigh. Both are said to be in critical conditions and were flown into Port Moresby today for urgent medical treatment.

Police Commissioner David Manning stated: “I said in November and I repeat again today that all the policemen involved in the assault on Nelson Lari and his travelling companions will be dealt with. A number of policemen have been arrested and charged and more are expected to be arrested as well.

Manning also commended the Bougainvilleans for their overwhelming desire to become an independent nation. He said whilst the process is still not over until its ratification by the National Parliament of PNG, the people of Bougainville have spoken.

Manning called on Papua New Guineans around the country to respect the wishes of the people of Bougainville to become an independent nation.

In a statement, David Manning said: “Basically, the Public Accounts Committee has identified criminal culpability on the part of a number of senior Health Department officials so we are in the process of interviewing them.

“Whilst the PAC has suspended its inquiry until the new year, the Police Force has a moral obligation to the people of PNG to investigate and take immediate appropriate action.

“I am grateful to the support given by both the Minister for Health and the Secretary for Health in this regard. We will work closely with them to ensure that justice prevails.

“I thank the Marape-Steven Government, through the NEC, for making this appointment, where we had three acting positions of Commissioner and the two Deputies. This had caused uncertainty not only within the Constabulary but in the country and communities as well,” stated Wagambie Jnr.

“There can only be one Police Commissioner and two Deputies. It is the prerogative of the Government of the day to appoint, whilst following due process.

Documents held by the Royal PNG Constabulary indicated that the PNG firearms dealer had imported high powered firearms specifically for the exclusive use of the Royal PNG Constabulary and not for sale or transfer to a third party.

However, a review recently carried out by the Royal PNG Constabulary and international partner agencies had revealed that a large quantity of these firearms have been sold to third parties in PNG.

Manning said the Government of PNG has allocated K7.5 million for police security operations for the Bougainville Referendum. The RPNGC involvement will see a total of 50 police personnel from around PNG being deployed to Bougainville to assist the Bougainville Police Service (BPS).

“These police personnel deployed to Bougainville are actually Bougainvilleans working in other parts of PNG or other Papua New Guineans with attachments to Bougainville through marriage,” Manning stated.

Acting Commissioner of Police, David Manning, said the principal lawyer of NiuAge Lawyers, along with a Waigani Court Registry Clerk, were both arrested and charged for the following offences:

In a press briefing this afternoon at the Police headquarters, David Manning said he received a formal complaint from Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika on Tuesday, November 12^th.

“That particular complaint was also cc’ed (carbon copied) to the Chief Ombudsman,” stated Manning.