Five men from Enga Province have been arrested and formally charged for threatening, obstructing, and assaulting police officers while they were attending to a complaint in Hohola, Port Moresby.

The Commander of the National Capital District and Central Provinces, Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Benjamin Turi, confirmed that the incident occurred on Tuesday while police officers from Hohola Police Station were responding to a report made by a woman concerning a land dispute.

Commander Turi explained that police were called to a residence in Hohola Five, where several men were allegedly attempting to forcibly remove a deceased man’s wife and children from the property in order to claim ownership of the land. Police attended the scene to address the complaint and mediate the situation.

During police intervention, one of the suspects, who had flown in from Enga Province, became aggressive toward the officers. The situation escalated when the man physically assaulted a senior police officer by tearing off his uniform and fighting with other officers who were present at the scene.

Commander Turi said police used reasonable force to restrain the suspect and took him into custody at Hohola Police Station, where he was detained.

Following his detention, four other men arrived at the police station demanding his release. Commander Turi explained that the group confronted the officer-in-charge, argued with him, issued threats, and continued insisting that the detained suspect be released.

When their behavior persisted, police arrested the four men and placed them in custody.

The five men were later formally charged with various offenses and detained to appear in court once their files are finalized.

Addressing the seriousness of the incident, Commander Turi emphasized that such actions would not be tolerated under his command.

“The actions of the men are totally unacceptable in my command. Tearing the uniforms of the police officers while performing their duty is very serious; even arguing with on-duty police officers at the police station while they are doing their job is also wrong. Port Moresby is the capital city of Papua New Guinea, and if someone is found to be disrespecting the police officers, we will deal with them accordingly,” Turi stressed.