PACFIC BRIEFS

sacked pension fund head now in jail

MICRONESIA – The former head of American Samoa’s Retirement Fund Office, Luatua Filisouaiga Taafua, is in jail on US$100,000 bail. He is facing 21 charges for allegedly misappropriating more than US$100,000 of Retirement Fund money while he was director of the government pension plan. He was served an arrest warrant when he came to the District Court for his initial appearance. Luatua had been placed on leave without pay for several months while the investigation was going on and in January, the Retirement Fund board moved to terminate his services. An audit report found evidence that Luatua misappropriated about US$112,000 that belonged to the fund for his personal use.

MINE tailings dam spill ‘under control’

solomon islands – The Solomon Islands ministry of environment says a major spill-over at the Gold Ridge mine tailings dam has been brought under control. Heavy rains caused the dam to overflow its spillway last month. The permanent secretary of the ministry said drastic action was taken to avoid a breach in the dam wall, allowing the land-owning company Gold Ridge Community Investments Ltd to pump untreated water from the dam to contain the spill. Melchior Mataki says as of last Friday the company stopped pumping untreated water and returned to treating water in the dam before discharging it. Mataki says toxicity results are still pending from water and sediment samples from various streams and rivers below the dam. In the meantime the ministry of health has issued a precautionary warning to communities living downstream of the mine not to use the water for drinking, cooking or bathing.

DOG ATTACKS PROMPT DESEXING CALL

NEW ZEALAND – The latest vicious dog attack in South Waikato has the dog control manager there asking the government to enforce the neutering of menacing dogs. A 16-year-old boy suffered serious injuries when he was attacked by a three year old pitbull-boxer cross in Tokoroa on Wednesday. The attack only stopped when the boy’s three friends managed to grab the dog and sit on it. It comes after a spate of serious dog attacks in the last week, with the victims including a young boy, a pregnant woman and an elderly woman. Kerry Beckett a South Waikato district council compliance manager said it was time for a tougher approach. “That may mean that we make the South Waikato mandatory if you have a pitbull or any of the menacing breeds, then you must desex it.” The Association of Plastic Surgeons and various local government representatives have called for a ban on pitbull-type dogs.