Anti-graft group queries Iwei's modus operandi

ATTEMPTS by a member of parliament to expose fraud and graft at the Department of National Planning have backfired with the authorities now questioning the motives and methods used in dealing with public funds, The National reports.

In a front-page story yesterday, The National reported that Telefomin MP Peter Iwei had used personal funds to induce finance officers at the Vulupindi Haus to release a cheque for K12.4 million.

After paying K10, 000 into a private Westpac bank account and being provided a Department of National Planning and Monitoring remittance advice, Iwei later found out that the K12.4 million cheque was worthless.

Global anti-corruption organisation Transparency International (TIPNG) yesterday said in a statement that the use of personal funds to claim government funds was questionable and created a lot of suspicion.

“Additionally, the attempted use by the MP of a consultancy company to manage K12.4 million in development funds further compounds suspicion around the use of public funds,” TIPNG stated.

“If most of PNG’s development expenditure is spent in this way, then grassroots people can be assured that all government development plans will go nowhere fast.”

It also called on the government to take a greater holistic approach towards demonstrating its willingness and commitment in seriously combating corruption.

TIPNG said it was alarming that Iwei had, days earlier, saw fit to personally take carriage of a cheque for K1 million of electoral funds without due diligence and care, losing it in a taxi on his way home from parliament.

“The assertion by the same MP that he was not aware of the existence of the infamous Vulupindi syndicate is ludicrous, given that much publicity has been made on this issue over the past months.”

However, TIPNG did acknowledge efforts by the Telefomin MP to bring the issue to light in the media.

“Furthermore TIPNG would like to call on Iwei to initiate the relevant measures to bring this matter to the attention of concerned agencies such as the police fraud squad to institute legal proceedings.

“TIPNG now calls on all key stakeholders, in particular the police fraud and anti-corruption squad and the departments of Finance and Treasury and National Planning, to take a more proactive role in addressing the issues at hand.

“These institutions should be playing a role that is perceived to be dynamic, efficient, well-resourced and result-driven to enhance public confidence in the capacity of government to tackle corruption from the top down.

“Instead, it appears that from the top down, there is little, if any, will to tackle systemic corruption that plagues PNG public expenditure today,” TIPNG stated.

 

 

Prime Minister: Case still before court

PRIME Minister Sir Michael Somare said yesterday that the court challenge on his referral by the Ombudsman Commission remains on foot in the National and Supreme Court, The National reports.

He said what was dismissed by the Supreme Court was an interlocutory appeal regarding a summons to produce his lawyers had asked for to adduce certain documents from the Ombudsman Commission.

He was disappointed with the front page article of the Post-Courier headlined “PM appeal annulled” yesterday.

“The truth is that my real substantive case is still pending in the National Court and the dismissal of this completely separate interlocutory appeal does not affect my substantive case,” Sir Michael said in a statement issued yesterday.

“The Post-Courier reporter had full knowledge of this as explained by my lawyers, PKA. The reporter still went ahead in today’s paper (yesterday) to tell a half truth and continued on to draw his own misleading conclusion.

“PKA informed me this morning that the reporter’s reaction to his explanation that the dismissal bears no consequence to the substantive case against me was basically it did not matter as ‘this is the prime minister’ and he had a paper to sell.

“My lawyer informed me that he also warned the reporter not to mislead the public but the reporter had his mind set on the sale of the paper.

“This callous behaviour is deplorable.

“Whether it is the prime minister or any other citizen of this country, the media should not be allowed to manipulate information at the expense of others for their market share.”

“I condemn the actions of the Post-Courier in the strongest possible manner.

“We have to be mindful of the consequences of tolerating such unethical behaviour. Our complacency allows indecency to creep into our daily life as a nation,” Sir Michael said.

The prime minister’s challenge remains on foot in the National Court, while his lawyers have also filed a Supreme Court reference to clarify certain issues that were raised.

While these proceedings are pending, the Public Prosecutor is restrained from making any referral.

The Prime Minister’s referral by the Ombudsman Commission relates to his annual returns.

The commission alleges that he has filed them late, or that what he has filed were misleading.

Row over internet domain name

By PATRICK TALU

 

THE European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper (ESBC) has questioned a move by a Chinese industrial group to acquire “Bougainville copper” as their internet keyword, The National reports.

Alex Sturm, ESBC president in a statement yesterday, questioned what China’s real intentions on Bougainville are after an email dated Nov 19 requested ESBC verification on the proposed internet keyword.

The email read: “This is a Network Service Co which is the domain name registration center in Hong Kong, China.

“On Nov.16, 2010, we received an application from MEIHUA Group requesting ‘bougainville-copper’ as their internet keyword and China (CN) domain names.

“But after checking, we find this name is in conflict with your company’s name or trademark. In order to deal with this issue better, it’s necessary to send this email to you and confirm with your company whether this company is your distributor or business partner in China. If you did not authorise, please let us know within seven working days, so that we will handle this issue better.”

Sturm had asked why a giant Chinese industrial group was so  interested in acquiring the name of “Bougainville copper” for their own purpose.

“Why are they contacting the European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper and not our company itself or even better, Rio Tinto?

“What are the true intentions of this MEIHUA Group?

 “The European Shareholders of Bougainville Copper had asked these questions to Linda Wang of Hong Kong China Technology Ltd, a domain provider, but did not get any response until now,” he said.

A search on the internet showed that MEIHUA Group is engaged in door manufacturing and in the production of monosodium glutamate, a flavour enhancer, using materials from corn.

 

 

Worthless cheque!

MP pays K10,000 for K12.4m bogus cheque

 

By JEFFREY ELAPA

 

MEMBER for Telefomin Peter Iwei followed instructions and paid K10,000 into an account at a bank in Port Moresby, so that an official at the Department of National Planning will release a cheque for K12.4 million, The National reports.

Iwei was told he had until 4.06pm on Nov 19 to pay the money into the account, or the K12.4 million deal would be off.

Iwei identified by name the person who instructed him to pay the K10,000.

He said he really wanted the money for his projects, so he got his wife to pay K10,000 of their own money into this account on Nov 19.

Iwei produced the butt of the deposit slip, which showed the K10,000 being deposited into a Westpac bank account number 600099061. The bearer of that account was a Susan Boga.

Iwei said on Nov 29, he received a fax from the official at the Department of National Planning.

The fax was a Department of National Planning and Monitoring remittance advice, dated Nov 25. It said a cheque number 901973 for K12.4 million was raised in favour of Tatoo Pacific Consultants, a firm that the MP had retained for projects in his electorate.

Of the K12.4 million, K2.4 million was for Telefomin market rehabilitation while K10 million would be for the Telefomin hospital project.

Iwei and his consultant went to the bank, with the photocopied remittance advice, and were told that the cheque was worthless.

He was told that the cheque was bogus, or fake.

He immediately informed National Planning secretary Joseph Lelang to look into this.

“A highly organised syndicate is operating within the Department of National Planning, collecting commission in thousands of kina in return for the release of government development grants.

“This is corruption, and something has to be done quickly.

“There is a lot of leak and stealing in Waigani, and people in the villages are suffering,” he said.

Lelang told The National yesterday a major corruption ring might be operating from Vulupindi House.

“I believe it might involve some of my staff,” he admitted when pressed if people close to him were involved.

Lelang said he had received 10 other complaints regarding a person in the department demanding payment into this account at Westpac before cheques could be delivered to MPs.

“I have written to police to take action on this. I do not know what has happened to date.”

He said it appeared the same person was demanding K30,000 from a company doing a project in Madang before a cheque of K5 million could be released.

A previous complaint from the board of a school in Erima prompted Lelang to call in police, resulting in the arrest of at least three people, two of them employees at Vulupindi House.

This is not the first time Iwei has had issue with public funds at his disposal.

On Monday, he picked up a K1 million cheque for his electorate but lost it in a taxi.

He had still not recovered the cheque.

Iwei had asked the Finance Department to put a stop on the cheque.

 

 

Governor General election ruling set for next Friday

By ELLEN TIAMU

 

THE Supreme Court will hand down its decision next Friday on whether there were constitutional breaches in the election of the governor-general by parliament this year, The National reports.

It heard arguments on Monday and Tuesday from the sponsor of the motion, Morobe provincial government, through its lawyer Alfred Manase and government lawyers.

The issue was whether there were constitutional breaches regarding the re-election of Sir Paulias Matane as the governor-general and, whether, parliament Speaker Jeffrey Nape had breached the constitution when he declared Sir Paulias as duly-elected to serve a second term in June.

Manase said in his argument that the matter was a serious constitutional breach and the Supreme Court should use its inherent powers to declare the re-election of the governor-general void avinitcio and, so, null and void.

He said section 87(5) only gave parliament the power to give the incumbent, Sir Paulias, the authority to re-contest if he had mustered the required 73-vote majority.

Following that, he, along with other candidates, were required to go through a secret ballot. However, that did not happen and Sir Paulias was declared governor-general.

Morobe was also arguing that, by law, the speaker automatically assumed the position of acting governor-general as soon as the incumbent’s term was up, but, that did not happen on May 26 when Sir Paulias’s term of office expired.

Only under circumstances that render the speaker unfit or unable to take up the post, then the chief justice was next in line and, if he cannot, then the attorney-general, the court was told.

Instead, they said, Nape continued as speaker and the following month, on June 25, presided over the election process which, according to Morobe, was unconstitutional.

The five-judge Supreme Court bench reserved its determination to next Friday due to the nature and seriousness of the matter.

 

Pilot on sex charges sues for A$45 million

AUSTRALIAN federal police (AFP) officers concealed evidence and submitted false documents in the prosecution of an Australian pilot on child sex charges, resulting in his wrongful conviction, the man’s lawyers claim.

Fred Martens, who spent 940 days in a Queensland prison after being convicted of the rape of a 14-year-old Papua New Guinea girl in Port Moresby, is suing the federal government for A$45 million, according to AAP.

The 61-year-old was the first to be charged under sex-tourism laws which target Australians who commit sex crimes in Pacific island nations.

However, Queensland’s court of appeal last year quashed the conviction after Marten’s family obtained flight records which proved he was not in Port Moresby on the dates the girl alleged the offence occurred.

In a statement of claim lodged in the Queensland supreme court in Cairns on Monday, Marten’s legal team allege a team of officers from the AFP’s transnational crime unit based in Port Moresby “maliciously prosecuted” their client.

The claim alleges the officer who arrested Martens, Tania Stokes, swore an affidavit claiming department of immigration records proved Martens was in Papua New Guinea on two occasions the girl claimed to have flown with him.

She also submitted a typed record of travel between Australia and PNG by Martens which supported the claim.

The girl claimed she had flown with Martens twice in 2001, in April and September, and that he sexually assaulted her on the second occasion.

However, official immigration records obtained by his legal team under a freedom of information request showed he was in Australia on the first occasion while PNG civil aviation records showed he could not have been with the girl on the September dates.

Martens alleged the prosecution was organised by his ex-wife Raina Martens, with whom he was locked in a bitter custody battle, and the statement of claim alleged she arranged interviews between the girl and police.

The A$45 million damage claim related to the collapse or loss of a number of PNG business ventures owned by Martens as a result of his prosecution and incarceration, including the country’s Royal Flying Doctor Service.

It also said he suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological damage as a result of his prosecution and conviction, including the loss of his daughter Stephanie, who died of malaria in PNG while Martens was awaiting trial.

He believed he would have been able to save her had he not been stranded in Australia with his funds frozen and his passport confiscated.

The federal government will have 28 days to respond to the claim. – AAP

Haircut on Christmas

Bobby Yangom has not had a haircut in all his adult life, The National reports.
This Christmas, the 35-year-old from Yamap in Bulolo district, Morobe, will rid himself of the 135cm bundles of locks that weigh about 1.2kg. He has been growing them since 1990.
He says he dreads the day he will cut them but it is something he has set his mind on doing. – Picture by CHRIS DONALD