ACTING Police Chief Mostyn Mangau says police will try to get the materials needed to complete investigations in a murder case in East Guadalcanal before the court’s due date.
He made this assurance after Principal Magistrate Fatima Taeburi refused to accept their excuse for the delay caused in this investigation.
The court had heard on Tuesday that the police could not produce photographs obtained during post mortem because they ran out of yellow cover page that is usually attached with the photo album.
Mr Mangau at the commissioner’s weekly conference yesterday said the reason for the delay was because their forensic unit are short on some administrative materials.
He said materials such as the papers they normally use for the photo album ran out of stock.
”…but I assure you that the police will try to get stocks available to get this album or photos available before the court’s before due,” Mr Mangau said.
He said police continue to carry out their investigation and the forensic officers are trying to get this required photo albums available before the court’s due date.
Ms Taeburi has having refused the excuse by the police on Tuesday had adjourned this murder case to today.
She said she will not entertain further delays and will arraign the two accused, Sarani Matthew William, 25 and Tehila Mari, 22, today.
The defence counsel had been asked to elect a form of preliminary Inquiry today as well as inviting both counsels to make submissions on the sufficiency of prosecution’s evidence as it is.
The two men were accused of murder of a man whose dead body was found on January 2, at a cocoa plantation behind Rarata Village with cuts on his body.
Police also discovered a kitchen knife with blood stains on it when they attended to the scene.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
