Three police vehicles that operate and serve the people of both NCD and Central provinces were damaged by an alleged group of people from Goilala who reside at different locations in Port Moresby city.
National Capital District (NCD) Metropolitan Superintendent Warrick Simatab confirmed that two Force 10 vehicles and one Motu Koita police vehicle were damaged on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
He said the two Force 10 vehicles, which were assisting the Central police officers at Fifteen Mile police station, responded to another incident at Bomana in the early hours of Friday and were attacked by a group of armed men alleged to be from Goilala.
“It was night, and the attackers were hiding in the dark when the vehicle got bogged down and trying to pull out when they stoned the vehicle’s windscreens. Help was called for by other police units to assist, who responded and rescued the officers and the vehicles. Some suspects were picked up a day later and are now in police custody. They will be interviewed and charged accordingly,” Met. Supt. Simatab said.
He further added that the other incident happened on Saturday morning at Badihagwa, where the Motu Koita police bus was stoned by an alleged group of Goilala men.
Met. Supt. Simatab said one suspect was picked up by members of the community and is now detained in the police cell for questioning.
He said the police vehicles had been helping in policing the city, and with the three vehicles damaged, it will now decrease the police presence in the city.
“I want to call on the public to respect public properties, such as police vehicles. The vehicles are paid for or hired with the people’s money, and they help provide police services to the community.
With the damage done, we will now have less police presence, which will lead to an increase in law-and-order problems.
My call now is for everyone to work with the police to identify those who are stoning the Force 10 vehicles at Bomana and the Motu Koita bus at Badihagwa. We also want the community to help us report those individuals damaging public assets,” Met. Supt. Simatab said.
He said the vehicles are now in the workshop for maintenance.