PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Papua New Guineans are in mourning after the shock death of a revered former Miss South Pacific PNG beauty pageant winner and a beloved community figure.

Ruby-Anne Laufa, 24 – who had ambitions of becoming PNG’s prime minister one day – was completing the final year of her law degree before her death on Saturday.

The cause of her death remains the subject of an ongoing police investigation.

However, the National Capital District’s metropolitan police commander, Ben Turi, said charges may be laid following a full autopsy on Laufa’s body.

Earlier Turi hinted at foul play, telling Loop PNG that a “murder suspect” – a man from East New Britain Province – had been interrogated by CID officers.

Laufa suffered injuries from a moving vehicle driven by her boyfriend at the University of Papua New Guinea Waigani campus on Saturday, and died from the injuries later in hospital, according to a report in the Courier-Post.

Turi said that Laufa sustained a head injury but the cause of that injury was yet to be determined.

He said a preliminary report stated that Laufa was found lying on the road and was rushed to the hospital where she died

The Post-Courier reports that the man in custody is “very distressed, shocked and feels very strongly for her”, according to his lawyer.

Loani Henao said homicide police have not charged the man and have released him. His name has not been released.

“According to the homicide unit they will not charge him but he may be referred to the Boroko Traffic Police who will interview him and decide whether to charge him or not under the traffic legislation,” Henao said.

Turi is appealing for witnesses to come forward and assist with details of the incident at the campus.

Hundreds gathered at a candlelight vigil on Monday to commiserate the young woman’s death.

“We were just overwhelmed with the turnout, like it was hundreds and hundreds of people,” Avis Babalu, who befriended Laufa at university, told the ABC’s Pacific Beat.

Babalu described Laufa as a dynamic young woman who already had her own modelling business, was about to start a new real estate company and had generally “achieved a lot”.

“She was a force and she would have changed PNG. She had big dreams and she had a plan,” she said.

“She would have been one of those women who would have been so successful in PNG and it’s not just a loss for her friends and family, it’s a loss for Papua New Guinea.”

Laufa wrote on August 20, 2013: “Dear Women, you have the strength and capability in you to take on the world. Be brave and create your own paths, trust me it isn’t easy but we can. To all the women in my life who have played an important role in shaping mine and to all those waiting to explore this world. Take courage!”

Laufa’s father is a senior law lecturer at UPNG and her mother is a branch manager with the national airline, Air Niugini

Born on February 13, 1992, in Port Moresby, Laufa was crowned Miss South Pacific PNG in 2012, winning a competition that is immensely popular in Papua New Guinea.

She was just a couple of days short of her 25th birthday when she died.

Childhood friend Hanley Logoso said Laufa had touched people from all different walks of life and that her ambitions included to one day become Papua New Guinea’s prime minister.

Reports from media sources in Papua New Guinea are so far lacking in any detail of how the woman died.

EMTV says Laufa’s family is calling on eye witnesses to come forward. EMTV said her partner had reported the incident to police as a traffic accident.

Social media is humming with speculation about Laufa’s death, with most suggesting gender-based violence.

The Miss PNG Pacific Island Facebook page went as far as to say: “It is with great sadness and pain that we the Miss Pacific Islands Pageant PNG Committee announce the passing of Ruby-Anne Shantelle Kila Laufa, our Miss South Pacific PNG, 2012-2013, a victim of gender based violence; something she campaigned passionately against.”

Another Facebook writer said: “So very sad – a tragic indictment on the human race when beautiful, intelligent young woman suffer from the brutality of men. Far too many women and young girls facing this terror and oppression across the world.

A report in The National says the suspect involved in the death of Laufa will be arrested soon, quoting National Capital District metropolitan commander Turi. - PNC