PNG: No arrest ‘anytime soon’

Papua New Guinea’s acting police commissioner says he won’t be arresting Prime Minister Peter O’Neill “anytime soon” – even though a court has ruled the PM’S arrest warrant should stand.

On Tuesday, Justice Ere Kariko said only in the clearest cases of abuse of police power should the court intervene in a police investigation, and in this case there was no such evidence.

Bur acting commissioner Geoffrey Vaki says any moves to arrest O’Neill on corruption charges are “a long way down the road”.

He says the case requires more investigation to make sure it is “watertight” and even then, the prime minister would be “invited” to give an interview to police.

Less than three weeks ago, a different police chief took a different approach, serving O’Neill with the arrest warrant.

That police commissioner was promptly sacked, along with the attorney general, senior police and the country’s top anti-corruption investigator.

O’Neill was issued with an arrest warrant after the country’s anti-corruption agency Taskforce Sweep accused him of authorising fraudulent government payments to a local law firm, Paraka Lawyers.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has tried to get the court to dismiss the arrest warrant but without success.

He says he will respect the police commissioner’s decision on whether to pursue the case.

Vaki’s announcement comes after a group of Papua New Guinean police officers tried for a second time to arrest him over his handling of the arrest warrant for the prime minister.

Two days after is appointment to the post Vaki was arrested for abuse of office and perverting the course of justice.

On Tuesday this week, seven members of the fraud office presented him with another warrant, this time for conspiracy.

However, Vaki says the men were “chased away” from police headquarters by officers loyal to him.

The current acting police commissioner says the fraud squad is refusing to give him the file on the prime minister’s corruption case in another sign of the rift within the force.