PNGDF Soldiers

Eyewitnesses say the incident was an “accident”.

The vehicle driven by soldiers did not deliberately hit the child.

This newsroom was told the 5-year-old girl did not see the oncoming vehicle from her left when she crossed the road, right at the back of another passing vehicle on her right.

When the military driver saw the child running directly into their vehicle, he immediately stepped on the brakes and swerved to the side.

This was confirmed by the joint operations commander Colonel Esekia Wenzel, who says the men were detained but then released without being charged.

Colonel Wenzel could not verify the circumstances surrounding the detainment but says his office has confirmed that the men were detained following a tip off to police.

These three men, attached with the Air Transport Wing, are currently on leave from duties.

One of them was en route to Kavieng for an emergency leave but was detained along with the rest of the men, who were all in the same group travelling into Kokopo.

They returned before Defence Force Judge Panuel Mogish, who converted their bail to the K1000 fine that he ordered each of them to pay.

It was brought before the attention of the court today that each of the soldiers actually paid K1,500 bail early this year.

The additional K500 paid was for one of the two guarantors who would ensure they adhere to their respective bail conditions. The other guarantor was the chaplain of the barracks chapel. He paid a total of K6000, that’s K500 each for the soldiers.