Police in Lae city dealt with a high number of alcohol related cases and traffic offences during the Christmas period alone.
Lae Metropolitan Superintendent, Chris Kunyanban advised that although generally peaceful, police recorded 62 alcohol related incidents and 72 traffic offences.
Kunyanban added that everything in the city has gone back to normal, but as Lae police prepare for New Year’s Eve they will be expecting more such cases.
“That is what happened over Christmas. But as we are going towards New Year we don’t know what’s going to happen but we will just conduct awareness to the community on how they should celebrate in a peaceful manner.”
The Met. Supt also reported that there were two isolated incidents that saw a police officer injured after a brawl was broken up by police at 5mile.
Following the spike in alcohol related cases, Lae police will be ramping up their awareness program to ensure that the inhabitants of the city understand the consequences of their actions this past Christmas.
Kunyanban added that although the alcohol ban has been enforced during this festive period, it was astounding the number of cases they have had to deal with in a short period of time; therefore, police will be on the lookout for illegal alcohol distributors.
Kunyanban is now calling on the people of Lae and those travelling into the city to celebrate the New Year responsibly and avoid any further trouble.