Two Village councilors in the SHP were arrested and then granted K500 bail after they were found to have aided the 8 suspects in their escape after police learned of their torture of 4 women in the province. PPC Daniel Yangen stated that both councilors, including the prime suspect, a school teacher in the Paiamo LLG were arrested after both tried to stall police in an attempt to let the other avoid arrest when the police stormed their village to rescue the women. PPC Yangen is now appealing to the local communities in the neighbouring villages to assist the police in the arrest of the final 8 suspects. At the moment, police have received reports that all suspects are scattered across a wide area and believe that it will be a challenge to capture them all. Sorcery related torture of women is slowly creeping into the society in the highlands and the Chief Inspector believes that since the idea of sanguma and sorcery in the region has left a significantly negative impact on their way of life. “I believe it to be introduced to the highlands and now both Enga and SHP are severely affected by these beliefs causing them to commit these atrocities,” he said.

Police in the National Capital District this week received a boost of 8 vehicles from the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary which will be handed over to the Police station Commanders for their use to enhance the administration and efficiency of each of their stations. The vehicle presentation was held at the Boroko Police station, with the Deputy Police Commissioner Administration, Joanne Clarkson along with both the Chief of Staff from the office of the Commissioner, Mr. Steven Francis and the Director of Transport, Mr. Joe Joseph present for the occasion. Addressing the Station Commanders, DCP Clarkson stated that she was there on behalf of both Commissioner Manning and Deputy Commissioner of Operations, Anton Billie who was out of the city on duty travel, to present the vehicles to the NCD Command. “I am here just to hand over the vehicles to the NCD command and support in your policing efforts. You operate in a challenging command, one of the more challenging commands around the country outside of the highlands region, but you’re also the face of the RPNGC. You house the entire country in your command,” DCP Clarkson said. She said that they have been hearing and reading about the plight that the NCD police have been facing from the public and the command itself and this is the response from the headquarters, but in a small way. “There is more that we can do, we feel that we are able to and we acknowledge that but we can not only have to think of you but also have to think of the rest of the country,” she added. NCD/Central Commander, ACP Anthony Wagambie Jnr, expressed great happiness in his address to the three representatives from Police HQ on behalf of the NCD Metropolitan Superintendent and his station commanders, stating that they have been having problems with front line supervision. “Most of the time [the PSC’s], when it’s time for work they stay at home because they can’t make it to work because there is only got one shift vehicle and the shift vehicle is doing other duties and then after hours they are not able to get to the police station to check on the shift workers to see if they are on duty, they aren’t able to do that or other routine runs,” Wagambie said. He added that now with these vehicles, they will be implementing their plan of having duty officers to oversee their officers in the stations. Finally, NCD Metropolitan Superintendent, Gideon Ikumu happily thanked the DCP and the Police Headquarters for providing the vehicles, stating that when took charge 18 months ago, his biggest challenge was command and control of the men under his command. “Things were everywhere, Police men were roaming around doing their own stuff, little constables were summoning secretaries, directors and CEOs to the CID office to extort money from them, roadblocks were happening all over the place, and I noticed that the biggest challenge was command and control,” the Superintendent said. Ikumu outlined that one of his biggest challenge was the effectiveness of the middle management and that was his Police station Commanders. Speaking to the Zone commanders and the PSC’s he strongly advised them that they were directly responsible for the daily activities of their men. “You [Zone commanders and PSC] sit in between the commander and myself and your men and women in the stations and you supervise the frontlines. One of the major issues was logistics. The ability to be present after hours, the ability to be present over the weekends when most extortions, briberies and everything else that takes place at your stations and they were able to get away with it,” he said. He further added that now that the vehicles are available for their use, they can now be able to monitor their stations and their men effectively. The 8 vehicles were given to all PSC’s, however, due to the Waigani Police station already having enough vehicles and the Hohola Police Station Commander yet to sort out administrative issue, both did not receive vehicles. PC: RPNGC

Tarangau Primary School in the Western Highlands Province are counting down the days to host the biggest farewell party in appreciation for their outgoing head teacher, William Pora. The Special Events Coordinator for the event who is also a senior teacher, Mr. Kenneth Karagu stated that Mr. Pora has served diligently and with great enthusiasm for his students. “Our outgoing head teacher, Mr. Pora has served more than 50 years to the school and we want to send him out on a high note,” Mr. Karagu said. The program will be held on Friday and hosted at the school, with the farewell activities to be done with traditional dances, where students will be given the opportunity to present their gifts to Mr. Pora. There will also be item presentations done. Some of the tribesmen from Mr. Pora’s tribe and family members will also be on the ground to witness the service as the school showcases their appreciation for him being part of the school administration for the last 15 years. That is only the first part of the celebration, from there they will then proceed to the Highlander Hotel where the farewell dinner will be held with guest speakers from the Education Department and the Provincial education board.

The Tourism Promotion Authority on Tuesday showed their commitment to both Men and Women’s PNG National Rugby League Teams by presenting a cheque of K250, 000 to the Papua New Guinea Rugby League Chair, Mr. Stanley Hondina. This will be put towards the Kumuls and Orchids efforts in their World Cup campaign this year. Mr. Hondina stated that he was happy for the TPA to show their support in the sport. He added that it was also a great avenue to promote the country in terms of tourism on the world stage. “I am very happy to come here today to announce the support of our very own government organization, the TPA, coming behind to support the sport,” he said. He added that conversations he had with the TPA was along the lines of sport tourism, stating that tourism has different forms and states. “We did the sports policy launch two months ago when Minister Don Polye was appointed the sports minister and there was a figure that really blew me out when the Sports Foundation CEO Albert Veratau was going through his report and stated that $220 million Fiji dollars (PGK3,3 billion) was money coming in from sports,” he said. He stated that it showed them that sports diplomacy and sports tourism is something they can work on to. “I am very happy at this juncture to have come out with this partnership,” Hondina said. Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism Promotion Authority, Eric Mossman while presenting the cheque to Mr. Hondina stated that he was also happy with the juncture that the TPA and PNGRFL have come up with. “It was a last-minute call but we saw that it was an important strategic partnership between the TPA and PNGRFL and we believe it will go a long way because rugby league is the number one sport in the country,” Mossman said. He added that with the likes of PNG athletes playing overseas are carrying our flag and promoting our beautiful country worldwide.

The Badili Police are trying to establish a connection to the both deaths that occurred two weeks apart but share very similar circumstances. Police Station Commander, Inspector Jerry Obert, said the suspicious death they uncovered at the Tania Ladeara Beach at Vabukori and the one found on the hill share many similarities and could be linked. The deceased was identified as Frank Kuvi, a man from West New Britain married to a Gulf woman residing in the area. He was said to have gone to work early on Thursday morning and did not return that evening until his body body was found by an in-law the next day on the beach. “He had gone out the day before but did not return home that evening for dinner and was found the next day dead on the beach with the flesh on the top part of his right arm ripped off and most of his internal organs missing,” the PSC said. Obert said the scene of the crime over the weekend shared a similar resemblance to that of a body found not too far from where Kuvi’s body was seen. He said that both deaths shared a similar nature, with both bodies missing vital organs and with no blood at each scene. “It was perfectly placed as if someone had orchestrated the murders. The one on the 16th of September was found on the hill adjacent to the beach, a male, with his genitals mutilated and his clothes folded neatly beside the body and Kuvi’s body with all his internal organs gone with his clothes folded neatly beside him, this in the span of 2 weeks,” Obert said. The PSC stated that it looked intentional premeditated but at the moment they are treating both cases as isolated and suspicious deaths. At the moment, all evidence has been submitted to the Homicide division at the Boroko police station to determine the cause of the death of Kuvi.

Fighting erupted again yesterday in Hagen City as two tribes went head to head after a youth succumbed to his injuries in hospital after spending two nights due to serious injuries sustained during a scuffle that occurred during an earlier clash. Provincial Police Commander for Western Highlands, Superintendent John Sagom advised that fighting and the burning of shops occurred on the outskirts of the city after a drunken brawl ensued due to an unsettled issue by members of the Moge-Solo Tribe and the Moge Kopi-Pinambe Tribe during the Independence Weekend. “There was a scuffle between the youths over market fee collection resulted in a fight, which ensued on Friday leaving one youth being severely injured and taken to hospital, whereby after two days, he succumbed to his injuries,” Sagom said. This caused the clashes to occur leading to the burning and destruction of the market. Security forces were quick to attend to the situation and swiftly dealt with it and now the PPC has stationed men at the location to dissuade any further attempts to fight. He commended his men for their quick response to the situation and said criminal investigations into the incident is underway to find the suspects involved in the scuffle. “We have identified several suspects and have urged the leaders of both factions to surrender them so that the law can deal with them,” he added.

Sorcery related killings are slowly becoming a norm in our society as just last week, 4 women were swiftly rescued by Police in Southern Highlands Province after they received an anonymous SOS call to Taiamo Village. According to Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Daniel Yangen, the 4 women were rescued by his men but unfortunately one had succumbed to her injuries and died just as they were about to perform first aid. “10 men were involved in the torture and so far we have apprehended 1 out of the 10 but the identities of all suspects are known and it’s only a matter of time before we nab them,” Yangen said. The prime suspect was apprehended and is a teacher from the local school in the Village. At the moment a police manhunt is underway to apprehend the 9 other suspects involved in the heinous act. CIP Yangen added that they would have apprehended all suspects at the time his men had intervened at the scene but the village councilor had stopped his men due to his belief in rumors that the women being tortured were attempting to eat the heart of his wife. “My men should have taken the suspects into custody but were barred by the village councilor claiming that the 4 women were “Sangumas” out to eat his wife’s heart. We have now taken him also into custody as well,” the CIP said.

Eight talented Papua New Guinean female fashion designers made their statement on the catwalk with their amazing and beautiful designs displayed by models at the Palmolive Project Runway 2022 last night in front of dignitaries and people in the fashion business. Kicking starting the event, Colgate Palmolive General Manager, Mr. John Wood welcomed everyone present at the Palmolive sponsored event. “We are very proud to be the official sponsor of this amazing event with our global brand Palmolive, which without doubt is a premier event in PNG to showcase the talented PNG design in the country,” he said. He further stated that for several years they have been supporting the Miss Pacific Island Pageant (MPIP) and sponsored them in kind but after attending the event last year, they were extremely impressed with the amount of professionalism and talent that they pledged to increase their support to provide sponsorship for the event this year and beyond. Chairperson of the MPIP, Mrs. Molly O’rourke said it was an honor and a privilege to partner with all sponsors in this year’s runway and thanked Palmolive for the sponsorship provided to make event a success. “We are very excited to co-host with you this year and we look forward to a better and bigger 2023. To the official partner, we are blessed beyond words for the commitment that you have given towards MPIP for the last 5 years,” she said. She added that it was through their support that enabled the MPIP to continue their work in the country. Mrs. O’rourke also expressed gratitude towards the official make-up partner for the runway, Hannah’s Beauty box, stating that it was a blessing to have them on-board for the project. Meanwhile, the eight local designers showcased three of their pieces, which were donned by twenty- four male and female models. All eight designers brought fire and glamour to the runway, with pieces that left all attending awestruck. Judging the runway last night were Anna Bais, Rhoda Mojica and Nathaniel Lepani accompanied by two scrutineers, Debbie Oli, and Gwennette Ikupu. Topping off the event last night, guest international designer from Fiji, Michael Mausio from the House of Mausio, showcased some of his breath-taking pieces that captivated the audience as well. The dignitaries present to support the event last night in Port Moresby were the Governor General’s wife Lady Emeline Tufi Dadae, Member for Rigo Open Mr. Ano Pala, Member for Hiri-Koiari Mr. Keith Iduhu, Colgate Palmolive General Manager Mr. John Wood and Correctional Services Commissioner, Mr. Steven Pokanis.

Public servants that have fled from the Porgera-Paialla tribal fighting are calling on the District Administrator and the Governor of Enga province to assist them with their needs before they can ask them to return home to resume working. Porgera Secondary Deputy Principle, Mr. Amos Amail says that the Governor has called on the public servants to return to resume normal duties, but they are hesitant as they believe the violence has not ended. “We are still here in Wabag, we have not returned to Porgera as yet due to fighting still ongoing in the town. There are still killings occurring but they have not been reported,” Amail claims. According to Mr. Amail, the Public servants were paid a certain amount of money to assist them with resettling but he says it is not enough for all the Public servants. “We were paid K2,000 each but when we estimated the amount of property that was lost two months ago, that does not even come close to what we lost,” he said. At the moment most of the public servants from Porgera are at Wabag, and are waiting on the DA to call a next meeting next week to deliberate on the issue again.

The footy gods smiled upon the Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby city yesterday at the best ever nail biting, nerve clenching, jaw dropping footy match one could ever dreamed of watching. After going all out in regular time, not one single soul had expected the match to see not one, but two extra times of nonstop footy action. Both teams that took part in the grand final should take a bow for their magnificent performance because the Agmark Rabaul Gurias and the Kroton Hela Wigmen have cemented the day in the minds of all those who came out to witness what had unfolded and will go down in the history books as the best grand final match in the Digicel Cup’s history. Starting off strong both teams showed much intent with the visitors (Gurias) making headways into the Wigmen defence, making the mountain men work extra hard for both field and ball possession. But against the run of momentum, the Wigmen went 2 points up with half-back, Solomon Pokare opening the scoring with a penalty to lead the match. Both teams were evenly matched in physicality with momentum switching each way until the Gurias through some slick ball running by five-eight, Saki Peter and a chip over the top gave Dominic Anis Jnr a chance to score in the 36th minute. Returning from the half-time break both teams looked as strong as ever, but unfortunate ball handling errors by the Gurias gave room for the mountain men to execute their game plan. With the Gurias big men once again, creating breaks in the Wigmen defence, it was not long before a ruck infringement in the 54th minute gave Ase Boas a chance to extend the lead by converting a penalty goal. With the Gurias on top, all hope seemed lost as the tough Tolai defense seemed to dissuade the Wigmen until second-man ball running by Pokare saw Junior Igila chip the ball over the top of the defense for winger, Siki Konden to score in the corner, levelling the scores in the 67th minute. At that point, the conversion was unsuccessful leaving the scores level for the rest of the game. The final 10 minutes saw the men from Hela defend with vigorous intent, wreaking havoc as the Gurias looked stunned by the Konden try. That looked to be the case for the rest of the game. There were a few field goal attempts by both sides but were unsuccessful. A hard-fought match with both sides unwilling to surrender possession, the game entered extra time to see if one team would crack, but for the extra 10 minutes both teams looked impenetrable. An early scare from the Hela men saw a field goal attempt by super- sub Allan Simbiri waved away in the 84th minute of extra time, while Veteran Ase was not having a good day with the boot, as he missed 4/4 attempts at field goal. Golden point seemed to be the same with fatigue catching up to both teams, causing stoppages of play and it was not until the 97th minute in golden point when match referee, Ben Cummins blew a penalty 15m from touch, 30m from the goal against the men from Rabaul, sealing the game and the victory for the Wigmen as the man of the match, Tapia Solu converted. The Wigmen defeated the Gurias, 8-6.

The Department of Treasury on Thursday, met for the introduction and welcoming of the Ministry of Treasury Vice Minister, Solen Loifa. Speaking during the induction of Loifa, Treasury Minister, Ian Ling Stuckey stated that Long contact hours driven by a strong work ethic to meet critical deadlines, producing PNGs National Budget, Final Budget Outcome (FBO), Mid-Year Economic & Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) and Budget Strategy Paper (BSP) define some of the crucial work of Treasury. Stuckey said that there is a need for funds in all aspects of the country, and as part of this ministry, their task is to make sure that fund are issued according to the country’s laws. "Whilst everyone always need money and promptly, often pressures and demands from leaders government agencies and the private sector, can be overwhelming, so one of our primary tasks is to ensure that warrants or funding are issued in accordance with our Budget laws" advised the Treasurer. Vice Minister Loifa, who is also the Member for Menyamya, was introduced to senior staff at the Department of Treasury by A/Sectretary Andrew Oeke, and was appraised of the functions of each Division. He is credited with a Bachelor of Economics from the University of PNG and is currently serving his first term as a Member of Parliament.

A tentative funeral program for the Late Wewak Member of Parliament, Kevin Isifu has been released by Paliament Officials to friends and family. Wewak District Administrator, Mr. Martin Maingu, speaking from here in the nation’s capital has advised that a program was taken by the Parliament clerk to Wewak in preparation for the Provincial Administration to receive the body of the Late Member. He said according to the schedule, the body of Late Isifu will be taken out and transported to the house of parliament on the 4th and 5th of next month for the state funeral, and on the 6th will return home to Wewak for the body to be officially handed over to the East Sepik Provincial Administration. “From there the PA will take the Late MP into their program that has been outlined, with the viewing of the body to be done in town and then he will be handed over to his family to be taken to Angoram which will be his final resting place,” the DA stated. Late Member, Kevin Isifu will be laid to rest on the 6th of October. Currently, the DA and other senior members of the Wewak District Administration are in the capital, seeking financial assistance from the Treasury department to help with the organization of the Hauskrai. “We have received positive feedback from the Treasury Department so we were advised to wait till Monday,” Maingu said.