YAREN – Nauru’s Police Force is facing fresh scrutiny after it emerged that a man convicted of rape was allowed to join the police reserves.

Carnos Scotty pleaded guilty in November 2011 of raping a 16-year-old girl, and was sentenced to three years’ jail.

He committed the crime while he was on bail for assault.

Despite his criminal history, he was enlisted as a Nauru police reserve officer during anti-government protests in June.

Nauru police commissioner Corey Caleb has not responded to questions about why Scotty was accepted, saying he only served as a reserve officer during the three-day protest.

However, a photo posted on Facebook last month shows Scotty wearing a police shirt inside what appears to be a police station.

Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young questioned how a convicted rapist could be placed in a position of authority.

“You’ve got to wonder how seriously the Nauru government and the police force do take acts of rape when you can have somebody convicted of these horrendous crimes then being given a job with the police force,” she said.

“It beggars belief, really. It clearly shows they don’t have an attitude of great concern about the matter.”

Ian Rintoul, from the Refugee Action Coalition, said the situation showed the Nauruan police force was not performing to acceptable standards.

“We know plenty of instances where reserves have acted as police and have been called up to act as the police force on Nauru,” he said.

“There are not sufficient character checks. There is either a complete lack of procedure or a lack of concern for any procedure, if one does exist.”

The ability of Nauruan police to investigate serious crimes has recently been called into question.

Earlier this week, police closed an investigation into allegations made by a Somali refugee that she was raped by two men on the island.

In an extraordinary breach of privacy, police authorised the release of the alleged victim’s identity.

A recent Senate inquiry heard that detention centre operators had referred 50 cases to Nauruan police in recent years, but charges had been laid in just five of those cases. - ABC

Payments to MPs questioned

PORT VILA – Vanuatu’s opposition leader has requested urgent clarification from the prime minister about why payments of one million vatu ($12,100) were distributed to the personal accounts of every opposition MP with the line item “TC Pam refund” this week.

Opposition leader Ham Lini said in the letter, dated Monday, obtained by the ABC: “I am aware that this payment made to MPs is not budgeted for in the 2015 Appropriation Act and therefore I am concerned it is unlawful.”

“Please advise urgently why this payment has been made and whether there is any lawful justification for it.”

“The only narrative on the deposit was ‘TC Pam refund LPO’” – possibly referring to the tens of millions of dollars of relief funds received by the Vanuatu government after Cyclone Pam.

Infrastructure in the country was badly damaged by Cyclone Pam, which killed at least 11 people when it crossed the country’s islands in March.

Vanuatu is currently undergoing a constitutional crisis after the parliamentary speaker, acting as president, pardoned himself and 13 other government MPs on Sunday of bribery convictions passed down just days earlier.

President Baldwin Lonsdale, who returned to Vanuatu late on Sunday afternoon to take back his executive power, has vowed to resolve the political crisis and “clean the dirt from my backyard”.

The pardons have sparked widespread anger in Vanuatu, with a protest march scheduled for Monday.

The opposition has also filed a motion of no-confidence in the government of Sato Kilman, who has not been heard from since the conviction of most of his ruling government on Friday.

A no-confidence motion is expected to be put to the 53-seat parliament on Wednesday.