A HONIARA Magistrate has vented her frustrations at police officers who failed to perform their duties regarding a murder case that occurred in east Guadalcanal dating back in 2001.
Principal Magistrate Fatima Taeburi on Thursday said it is very shameful that our police are not performing their work in this case.
“This is a very serious case,” Ms Taeburi said.
“The accused is charged with murder and murder as you know is the most serious offence on this land.
“Yet police have not done anything about this case.”
Ms Taeburi said the accused; Albert Pai’s charge goes back to 2001.
The court heard that the application to have Pai remanded in custody was done on December last year.
Ms Taeburi said police are relying on evidence from the case against this accused’s co-accused which was prosecuted and completed some years ago.
She said police intends to rely on the same brief.
“It is obvious from submissions from the prosecutor in court that the police brief that contains the evidence necessary to prosecute this person has been returned from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to the Henderson Police sometimes around September last year.”
Ms Taeburi said after Pai was remanded in custody, the ODPP has on several occasions requested the brief from the Henderson Police and Tetere Police station.
She said police however, could not locate the brief and gave lame excuses in order to justify what she sees as an inconveniences and inability to perform their official duty.
“I do not know why they are called police officers at the first place and there were the work is expected of them they did not do work.
“Police are either lazy or unable to do their work.
“Either way it is a shame and a disgrace to the police force.”
She added that the police investigating officer in this matter is not taking any responsibilities at all.
“The officers in charge (OIC) of both Henderson Police Station and Tetere Police Station are also not doing anything about this case.
“And this in my view should be raised with the Director of the National CID.”
Pai’s matter was further adjourned to April 3 because his lawyer Jenny Namo of the Public Solicitor’s Office was not present in court on Thursday.
She made an order for Ms Namo to appear in court on the next court appearance.
This is for plea and for the indication of the type of committal hearing to be conducted on the matter.
Pai is facing one count of murder for allegedly aiding another accused, Hence Bosalea in the murder of a man in Kidigha village in Guadalcanal in 23 December 2011.
Bosalea was already dealt with by the court and is now serving a life imprisonment for this murder.
Pai is the second person to be arrested while two others are still at large.
Prosecution alleged Pai and two others aided Bosalea in attacking the deceased who had just arrived from his bush garden.
It was alleged that whilst the trio attacked the deceased, Bosalea came and grabbed the knife out of the deceased.
Bosalea then allegedly chased the deceased with it and cut him from his back on his head, neck and upper back.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
