4 from 7 suspects were apprehended by police in East New Britain over the weekend after a murder/arson incident which led to the death of a person in the Valahur area of the province.
Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Janarius Vosivai confirmed that the four are now in police custody while they are still on the hunt for the others. Chief Inspector Vosivai said that the incident occurred after an argument over a mango.
The victim fled the scene and sought refuge in his home after a fight ensued leaving the victim outnumbered and at a disadvantage. The man was burnt alive in his home and from the findings from the investigations, was the only casualty. After the preliminary investigations, it was found that the argument occurred around 1am on the morning of the 11th of this month over a mango.
This led to the victim and the 7 youths to a brawl which ended in the man returning to seek refuge at home. “The victim locked himself indoors while the suspect continued their assault on his home. They quickly set fire to the victim’s home but fortunately everyone managed to make it out of the fire except the victim,”
Vosivai said. The Chief Inspector is now appealing to the communities all over the province to not resort to violence over petty squabbles. “There are a lot of issues that happen in the communities, especially to youths, which resort to violence.
I urge all communities that we need to start getting our youths under control,” Vosivai said. He added that if they do not, they will continue to encounter problems. The PPC advised that should there be any problems, they should look to other ways to solve them and not to resort to violence. Currently the manhunt for the rest of the suspects is underway, while the police try to understand the true motive behind the murder.