Madang

Provincial Election Manager Sponsa Navi said the 14 women are locals from the six Madang districts.

Navi said of the 14, four are contesting the Madang Open seat, one for Usino Bundi Open, three for Rai Coast, one for Sumkar and three will be contesting the provincial seat. He said the only electorate that has no woman candidate is Bogia.

Mr Navi said after nominations had closed, two decided to withdraw, bringing the total to 315.

Madang town market manager Otto Janjet said he was advised to close the market because of the sensitivity of the issue. He said the market management is also assisting the police to identify the instigators that lead to the killing of the innocent woman. Janjet said he is working closely with the police to ensure the investigation progresses.

The main suspect, a 29-year-old man, has been charged with willful murder for the death of Dugul.

Election manager Sponsa Navi has confirmed that 26 candidates have nominated so far to contest the provincial seat. There are two women in that group. 
 
Mr Navi added that in the Middle Ramu electorate, two of the 29 nominees so far are women. 
 
In Sumkar, only one woman has been nominated amongst 36 candidates, and in Usino Bundi, no woman has nominated so far of 23 nominees. 
 
Mr Navi said 28 candidates have nominated so far for the Madang Open seat, two of whom are women.
 

Officer in charge, Joan Manalau said the bottle shops in Madang town have been issued notice of the liquor ban.

She said the other shops outside of town have been informed and the police will be out there to make sure they adhere to the notice.

Manalau said there are some shops in Madang that are alcohol distributors and have been exempted to supply only to the hotels upon request. JKT limited, Andersons Foodland and Supreme Investment are the three approved distributors.

Mrs Munakara and fellow mothers from Ward 13 and 14 travelled to Bogia station to meet and exchange gifts with mothers from other villages, and show each other how important they are in the society.

Her decomposed body was discovered by locals three days later and reported to police.

Madang Provincial Police Commander Acting Superintendent Mazuc Rubiang said according to the investigation team, the young woman, identified as Rachael Andrew, was allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted and then killed. Her body was left at the crime scene. Her assailants are known to police.

Madang Provincial Police Commander Acting Superintendent Mazuc Rubiang said most of these deaths were murder cases while two were traffic accidents. He said the traffic accidents happened on Sunday April 17 and Friday April 15 along the section of the highway between Madang and Ramu.

According to Peter Sun, President of the Chinese Community in Madang, Chinese shops in Madang will be closed for three days.

Sun said the closure of the shops are in respect to the loss of countryman, Weng Yanqing, and also in to the first death anniversary of the country’s founding father Great Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. They will open after Monday 28^th February.

Police in Madang reported that Weng Yanqing from the Fujian Province was shot with a homemade staple gun at his workplace. Late Weng worked as the store manager for Wengs/Good Life Supermarket. Police alleged that the group of armed men entered the shop to commit robbery and shot the China man in the process. Police added that the incident happened late in the afternoon.

Police said medical staff at the Modilon Hospital confirmed his death when he was taken there. Weng’s body is now in the hospital mortuary.

Madang Provincial Police Commander Acting Superintendent Mazuc Rubiang said the men were alleged to have damaged three police vehicles, the police louvres and holding cell, and threw stones the Bogia Traffic Officers, two of whom sustained injuries.

The attack was in relation to the shooting death of 28-year-old Jerom Handuwi at Bogia Station. The policeman alleged to have shot and killed the Handuwi, has been arrested and charged with willful murder. He is being detained at the Jomba Police Station in Madang.