Judge concerned police statement of crime by MP Lohia Boe Samuel poorly prepared

 Papua New Guinea was gripped by an unusual shooting of a person by a serving Member of Parliament a week ago.

Lohia Boe Samuel, from the famous Hanuabada village and Member for Moresby Northwest who succeeded the late Sir Mekere Morauta during the by-election last year is at the centre of this crime.

Lohia Boe Samuel (Facebook)

Post Courier reported today  he was refused bail and is being held at the Boroko Police cell.

His said accomplice and protocol officer Fabian Hera has been allowed a K5,000 bail and K1,000 surety fees from guarantors.

Judge Teresa Berrigan who presided over the bail application by Samuel was unimpressed with how police investigators have prepared the crime report describing the prepared statements as poorly drafted.

According to Post Courier, Judge Berrigan said the statement surmised that an argument took place before the shooting when police used the phrase 'must have'.

She said "whilst what pre-empted the shooting was not clear, the facts spoke to a deliberate, if perhaps unplanned shooting by the applicant (Samuel) using his own weapon".

Samuel's bail application was refused but his lawyer would refile the application.

From the police statements tendered in court Samuel, his protocol officer Fabian Hera and the deceased Robert Jerry were at Fusion 2 Restaurant at Waigani on March 11, 2022 when the shooting happened.

The three were eating and having conversations at the restaurant when a disagreement arose and Samuel drew his firearm , a pistol and shot the deceased straight away on his right neck under his ear penetrating his neck and causing his immediate death.

Police statement says Samuel then stood up, banged the table and yelled out "Fabian, Fabian why did you do that, why?" before putting the pistol down pointing to Fabian and walked out while Fabian stood there with his hands on his head looking puzzled.

New Ireland government appoints manager for government assets

 

The New Ireland Government has welcomed onboard Agaru Liga Taunao  as its head of government assets in the province.

It says in a statement Taunao has a wealth of experience in managing commercial and residential properties within the private and public sector. 

This includes Sporting venues like the Taurama Aquatic and Indoor Centre, Australian Granprix  and Olympic Park Trust in Melbourne, Victoria,  Australia.

Taunao will be responsible for managing the Kavieng and Namatanai Government Houses, the Kavieng Multi Sporting Stadium and the New Ireland Legislative Assembly which are major impact infrastructure in the Province built by the New Ireland Government during Sir J’s latest two terms as Governor of New Ireland.

New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan challenged Taunao to make the facilities come to life, particularly the Kavieng Sports Stadium. Urging him to start planning Sporting activities that will see the facility being fully utilized.

“These are important assets for the People of New Ireland and my Government wants to ensure that they are well looked after and maintained at the highest professional level. We need to ensure their longevity and sustainability so that even after any change of Government these assets remain functional and for our future generations,” he said.

Remembering the good and bad of Ben Micah

Former Kavieng MP Ben Micah passed on to glory Wednesday 16 March 2022 at the Pacific International Hospital in Port Moresby from a reported heart attack.

From Emirau and Musau Islands in New Ireland, he was 62 and survived by his wife and eight children.

Ben Micah Source: Facebook

When news of his death broke out early Wednesday and reached Sir Julius Chan chairing the final New Ireland government assembly meeting before the general elections- he immediately called for silence to remember Ben Micah.

The New Ireland Government was saddened to hear about the passing of one of its former member of parliament, strong People’s Progress Party man and much loved Son of New Ireland. 

Sir Julius said in a statement.

“Ben Micah was a great man. He was a great orator who did a lot for New Ireland and this country in his various capacities,” Sir Julius said.

Micah was MP for Kavieng from 1992 to 1997 and 2012 to 2017.

Micah was being remembered as Chairman of the Constitutional Law Reform Commission in 1996 when Sir Julius was Prime Minister.

“He was Chairman at a time when the country was reviewing legislation on the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Governments. 

"He was the right man for the job. It was exciting working with him. We can never take away the work he did for this country. Because of him we have Provincial Governments."

Sir Julius also revealed that he worked closely with Micah so that they could change the Governance system of Papua New Guinea so that the Prime Minister could be elected by the people emulating countries like the Republic of Singapore and Fiji and still remain part of the Commonwealth.

“ I sent Micah to the United Nations as my special envoy when I was Prime Minister. He rubbed shoulders with Fidel Castro, I think that’s where he adopted his signature suit dressing from," he said.

Micah was a vocal student advocate when he was a student leader at the University of Technology, standing up for the rights of the voiceless. 

Sir Julius recalled that many of ‘Ben’s’ protests were actually against him but he respected his position .

“ Ben would never leave an issue without a fight. The saying “Evil prevails when good men do nothing was true for Ben,”  Sir Julius said.

Micah was Chief of Staff at the office of then Prime Minister Peter O'Neill who has described him as:   "I know that late Ben Micah has made a huge and important contribution to public life in our country both as a student leader and a political leader. He will be remembered for the reforms he championed in the systems of Government in our country that saw the establishment of the Provincial Governments.

"He was especially proud of the leadership he provided to his people of Kavieng and New Ireland.

"Through the years I have known Ben, he was always the life of any event and always took time to inspire those around him," O'Neill said.

Micah was declared bankrupt by the Ombudsman Commission in 1999 and he was discharged from bankruptcy in 2009.

Before he entered Parliament again in 2012, he was Chairman of IPBC.

When he was State Enterprise Minister during O'Neill's reign he appointed boards to SOE's and challenged them to ensure state agencies make money and pay dividends to government and further bring utility services to rural areas.

He has been heavily involved with boxing after he lost his Kavieng seat in the 2017 National General Election.

 

Gullible Papua New Guineans: Hundreds conned into investing in gold buying

I share this from the National's archive to point out how people in my area were deceived into believing in this scam.

I talked them not to buy a K500 per share but many didn't hear me.

I told them to see the share price for BSP on the POMSOX that is usually printed every day in the newspaper and it was selling at 50 toea per unit then so how come a company that does not have assets and as popular as BSP be selling their share at K500.

I told them if they wanted to invest, BSP and New Britain Palm Oil would be ideal.

It fell on deaf ears.

Still today there are many gullible people who are public servants, village farmers and even university graduates who can't reason beyond what is promoted to them at face value.

We must be critical and law must penalise scammers severely.

www.thenational.com.pg

 By DAMARIS MINIKULA - November 24, 2005

Hundreds of people may have been conned into investing thousands of their hard-earned kina in a supposedly gold buying company whose boss is facing fraud charges.

Some of these clients who bought shares with supposed gold trader KVDC Gold Limited are now calling on the management of the company to refund their money.

This newspaper reported on Tuesday that managing director of KVDC Gold Limited Caspar Musarow from Kairuru Island in East Sepik was charged with false pretence with intention to defraud after he allegedly conned a man into getting his gold without paying for it.

Mr Musarows arrest has led his clients to believe they might have lost money invested in the company.

A woman employed with the National Capital District Commission told The National yesterday (Wed Nov 23) that she wants KVDC Gold Limited to give back her money after she bought a share worth K500.

I have been waiting since 2003 to receive my payout but so far nothing is forthcoming.

I am still holding onto my certificate that I received after paying the money but I dont know the whereabouts of this company anymore, she said while requesting her identity not be revealed.

According to documents obtained by The National the woman had bought one share worth K500 on 3 April 2003 and was given a KVDC Gold Sales Certificate.

After I paid the K500 into their bank account, I was advised by the management that as soon as the first 1000 shares were sold out the dividend payouts would commence on a monthly basis, she said.

She claimed the management advised her to keep checking since the Managing Director was out of town but when she fronted up at the KVDC office at Garden City, she read a notice from the landlord advising the public that the office had closed due to non-payment of rent.

But in a KVDC newsletter, Mr Musarow told his clients that their office at Garden City was closed due to the sacking of the main office staff that had been using the office to conduct their own businesses.

The newsletter also promised a huge payout, and social security equivalent to the unemployed benefits currently available to the Australian public.

Another man who did not want to be named for this report also claimed he bought one share worth K500 but has not received the promised payouts.

I just want my K500 back. I dont want any promised interest because every time I called, the management told me that lawyers were still busy clearing KVDCs account, he said.

A widow, a mother of ten children in Rigo village, Central province also bought an undisclosed number of shares in the hope of earning enough money to cater for her children but has not received the promised payout.

Attempts to contact KVDC Gold Limited were in vain. Telikoms Faults section confirmed that the telephone numbers listed for KVDC were cancelled and did not exist.

Mr Musarow is out on a K500 bail and will appear before a magistrate in the Waigani Committal court tomorrow.

Parkop: Women’s right agenda is not a foreign concept

 The call for attention and further action to Gender Equality and Women’s rights in the country came to the fore this morning during the start of International Women’s Day celebration in Port Moresby’s Sir Hubert Murray Stadium. 

The day was marked days after the conclusion of the second Public Hearing of Gender-Based Violence by the Parliamentary Committee. 

Themed ‘Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable tomorrow,’ Active City Development Program in collaboration with the Spotlight Initiative, UNWomen, NCDC, Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, European Union and CEPA, hosted the celebration with dances, drama and speeches. 

Through the ACDP’s weekly Walk and Yoga for Life, the commemoration events were launched in the city. The day falls on March 8 with more celebrations planned at Ela Beach. The occasion observed strict Covid-19 protocols. 

Speaking this morning, NCD Governor, Hon. Powes Parkop clarified that gender equality and women’s right agenda is not a foreign concept introduced by UN. 

 Governor Parkop said Integral Human Development and Equality and Participation are goals 1 and 2 of National Goals and Directive Principles.

He said these principles and values were embedded in the National Constitution of PNG by the forefathers.

Governor Parkop, a former human rights lawyer before joining politics, made references to specific Sections 32, 36 and 55 which call for right to freedom, freedom for inhuman treatments and right to equality. 

These, he said, form the foundation of the State of PNG, calling on everyone to embrace and make them real for the better. 

During the GBV public hearing, he said health officials told the panel that 58,000 cases were sex and violence related involving women and girls. 

A disappointed Parkop said this shocking statistic from  2018 to 2021 only reflected the kind of attitude many PNG men possess.  

"I am disappointed that we cannot do much or all we can to realise the goals of the State as pronounced in our Constitution," he said.

Carolyne Nyamayemombe, who is the Deputy Country representative for UNWomen, said gender inequality cuts across climate change, Covid and other challenges facing the country and entire world. She added it exacerbates all these problems. 

She also vouched for women and girls who have made significant contribution in the country despite the lack of representation in Parliament, empowerment and decision making process.  

Sharing similar sentiments, Masato Koinuma, Chief Representative for JICA, said gender empowerment and equality is critical for equitable and sustainable socio-economic growth.

-NCDC Press Release

High Blood Pressure causes an MP from Papua New Guinea to die

Papua New Guinea and the people of Goilala District are mourning the death of the Member of Parliament representing the people of Goilala, Hon William Samb.

Prime Minister James Marape has confirmed the passing of Samb.

Hon William Samb MP Source: Post Courier website

"I have, late last night, received confirmation of the passing of the Honorable William Samb, at a hospital in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

"The Honorable William Samb who is the Minister for Commerce and Industry was on official duty travel to Dubai when he met his fate.

He was reportedly unwell and in hospital when he passed away. I have received this news with deepest regret. Our prayers are with his family and the people of Goilala at this time."

.

PNG Loop reports officials in Dubai while confirming his death said Samb had high blood pressure and was admitted to a hospital but succumbed to death.

Samb was born in 1973 and was a civil engineer graduated from the Papua New Guinea University of Technology and has a post graduate degree in project management from the Queensland University of Technology.

He entered Parliament during the Goilala open seat by election in 2015 and later won again in the 2017 National General Election serving a period of seven years in Parliament.

CEO of the Goilala DDA said on NBC Central that Samb was a grassroots people's person.

Samb is very popular with many journalists in Papua New Guinea as he has hosted several trips for journalists to Tapini and the greater mountainous Goilala.

He wanted journalists to write about the changes and the good things in Goilala rather than the bleak views about Goilala being a dangerous remote district in Papua New Guinea.

Arrangements have now been made to repatriate his body to Papua New Guinea.

U-Vistract scam in Bougainville to be stopped

Autonomous Bougainville Government President Ishmael Toroama has told ABC Radio that he will put an end to the pyramid money scheme U-Vistract run by Noah Musingku.

President Ishmael Toroama Source: Facebook

Musingku and his loyal supporters who are based at Tonu in South Bougainville have continued this scam for decades and declaring they have a currency -the Bougainville Kina.

Recently, there were reports that Musingku and his team have regained energy and convinced people from as far as New Britain and two ABG Members of the House of Assembly recognised Musingku and his scam.

But Toroama said: “I will not work with Noah Musingku...I will challenge those activities."

President Toroama said U-Vistract is harmful to Bougainvilleans and has caused plenty of disharmony among communities.

“There  are a lot people that have invested into the schemes many have died waiting for big amounts of money Noah Musingku promised them,” he told ABC Radio.

"Within the third year of my term I will be challenging every illegal activity in Bougainville."