Businessman wins 7 cases, but is troubled by police inaction
BUSINESSMAN Suresh Chandana is all smiles and for good reason. After fronting the judicial bench for almost two years on false allegations, he won all seven court cases, two in the High Court and five in the Magistrates.
But the foreign investor is troubled by non-police action on one aspect of the case.
Mr. Chandana cases relate to serious allegations brought against him by a one-time live-in lover – a foreign businesswoman by the name of Li Ping Ma who falsely told senior detectives that Chandana had threatened her with a loaded gun.
A group of detectives from the Central Police station, allegedly led by senior detective Oliver Buira and armed soldiers from the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, rushed to Mr. Chandana’s Panatina house.
With loaded military guns at the ready, they allegedly smashed their way into the innocent man’s house, smashing anything and everything in their way. A large amount of cash – takings from his businesses the previous night – had gone missing as well, Mr. Chandana said.
“They smashed their way into my bedroom and the next room which I used as my office. They did not even have a search warrant to come into my house, nor a warrant of arrest,” he said.
The PNG soldiers were in Honiara as part of security arrangement with PNG.
That was way back in June 2022, he said.
The High Court last week cleared Mr. Chadana of all charges.
Ms Li Ping Ma was once a live-in lover who made the initial allegations in the first place. At the time, both jointly owned and operated an entertainment joint and a used car outlet in a 90-10 per cent shareholding arrangement.
But while police were busy chasing false and baseless allegations made against him by the jilted lover, Ms Li Ping Ma proceeded to lock up the business premises of LCSM – the parent company located at Lunga.
LCSM Enterprises Ltd is the parent company of other subsidiaries such as LCSM Entertainment which owns and operates the sound system, stages and lightings, LCSM Fitness Centre (gym) and LCSM Automobile or car sales.
As well, she had locked up the shares in the parent company and the subsidiaries in her own name, meaning that Mr. Chandana was denied access to the 90 per cent shares he held in the shareholding arrangements.
In the process, he lost millions of dollars he was entitled to in the takings from the jointly-owned businesses
She even obtained a commercial bank approval to freeze their joint account without consulting him. The letter to the bank did not have the company’s letterhead or the company’s official stamp, he said.
To keep Mr. Chandana at bay, Ms Li Ping Ma then sent the vehicles in the fleet to unknown locations throughout the city. Last week, Mr. Chandana began the arduous task of retrieving the vehicles.
So far, he had located one vehicle being allegedly driven by an Asian man. It was unregistered, he said.
“It is a great feeling, Mr. Chandana said to find in the end that the courts are on your side after going through hell with all the false accusations, Mr. Chandana told Solomon Star last week.
But he said the role of senior detectives in the matter troubled him. He named Oliver Buira as the policeman who led armed PNG soldiers to raid his Panatina premises.
“I have repeatedly raised this matter with the police with CID officer, Zalopuka at the Central Police station. To date, there has been no response from him,” he said.
“What drove them to do this to me in the first place? Is it money? Is it favors or what? This is very concerning. These police officers must never make the mistake that the matter would go away.
”It would not,” he said.
By Alfred Sasako
