Following the allocation of K10 million by the National Government to the National Broadcasting Corporation for the coverage of the 2022 National General Elections, the Electoral Commission has announced that NBC will be the official broadcaster of the 2022 National General Elections. Information and Communications Minister Timothy Masiu, Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai and Managing Director of National Broadcasting Corporation Kora Nou signed the agreement yesterday at the Electoral Commission Headquarters in Port Moresby. Mr Sinai said providing correct information to the people is an integral part of any government activities and NBC has been an important partner since the first national elections in 1977. The coverage includes election awareness, updates, news and technical support. “The Electoral Commission’s prime focus is to strengthen support and coordination with all stakeholders for an efficient and successful National General Elections this year,” Mr Sinai said. “PNG Electoral Commission will continue to work together with NBC as the leading media communication partner with the rest of the media houses in covering this year’s election.” Minister Masiu commended the National Government and the Electoral Commission for the foresight in appointing NBC as the official broadcaster for the 2022 NGE. “I’m confident that NBC will not disappoint you and the people of this country as we always provide exclusive, conclusive and comprehensive coverage in the past NGEs and this coming election will be no exception,” Mr Masiu said. “As part of our obligation, NBC will work with the Electoral Commission on voter awareness, publicity as well as other related election activities.” “Our other major obligation is to provide election coverage materials to other PNG media outlets as well; we will not only keep the elections materials to ourselves but we will share with our media family to collectively provide regular and more detailed election information to our people,” Mr Masiu said.

Evidence suggests Russia is planning "the biggest war in Europe since 1945", Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. He told the BBC's Sophie Raworth in an interview: "All the signs are that the plan has already in some senses begun." Intelligence suggests Russia intends to launch an invasion that will encircle Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Mr Johnson said. "People need to understand the sheer cost in human life that could entail," he said. The prime minister was speaking from Munich, where world leaders are meeting for an annual security conference. The latest estimates by the US government suggests that between 169,000 and 190,000 Russian troops are now stationed along Ukraine's border, both in Russia and neighbouring Belarus - but this figure also includes rebels in eastern Ukraine. Western officials have warned in recent weeks that Russia could be preparing to invade at any time, but Russia has denied the claims, saying troops are conducting military exercises in the region. Asked whether a Russian invasion is still thought to be imminent, Mr Johnson said: "I'm afraid that that is what the evidence points to, there's no burnishing it. "The fact is that all the signs are that the plan has already in some senses begun." The prime minister said US President Joe Biden had told Western leaders intelligence suggested Russian forces were not just planning on entering Ukraine from the east, via Donbas, but down from Belarus and the area surrounding Kyiv. "I'm afraid to say that the plan we are seeing is for something that could be really the biggest war in Europe since 1945 just in terms of sheer scale," the prime minister said. People needed to not only consider the potential loss of life of Ukrainians, but also of "young Russians", he added. Mr Johnson was speaking after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and telling world leaders in a speech that any invasion of Ukraine by Russia would "echo around the world". The full interview will be broadcast on BBC One's Sunday Morning programme at 09:00 GMT. SOURCE: BBC NEWS

Minister for Information and Communications Technology Timothy Masiu has commended the PNG Electoral Commission for its efforts over the years in administering and delivering successful elections for the country. Minister Masiu made this acknowledgement during the announcement of the official media broadcaster for the 2022 National General Elections yesterday in Port Moresby. “The Electoral Commission is always being attacked by politicians, leaders, communities, and everyone,” Mr Masiu said. “We always seem to be pointing fingers at the Electoral Commission whenever we are not happy when something is not right in the way we see it.” “I want to say that since this country became an independent state, since the first election up until now, we need to pay tribute to the Electoral Commission of PNG, through the past Electoral Commissioners and officers down the line, some of them are here today and some are not." “We need to acknowledge their service to this country because it is through their hard work and commitment in delivering elections that we have a government and we have a country so we must give this acknowledgement where it is due.” Mr Masiu also congratulated Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai and his team for ensuring that preparations are well underway to deliver the upcoming National General Elections. “I’m happy to hear Mr Sinai talking about the important interventions the Electoral Commission is taking in making sure that this election is delivered,” Minister Masiu said.

Retired long-serving MP and Minister, Dame Carol Kidu, has called on Districts and Provinces to treat women equally as stipulated by law. Dame Kidu made this call while meeting with the first cohort of women attending the Leadership Academy for women at the Pacific Institute for Leadership and Governance (PILAG) in Waigani. Dame Kidu made the following statement which was endorsed by the women from 11 provinces. The National Goals in the Preamble to our National Constitution and other laws of PNG are very clear about political representation of women. National Goal 2 Directive Principle 5 clearly calls for ‘equal participation by women citizens in all political, economic, social and religious activities.’ With no women in National Parliament and very few women in local level councils, we have failed as a nation in this regard. Efforts have been made to improve the situation at local level with the 2014 amendments to the Organic Law on Provincial and Local Level Government. These amendments allow for Appointed Women at local level and for those women to be resourced equally with male Councillors. However, in most Wards, the appointed women are not given their allowances and often not even allowed to take part in debates nor put project submissions to the Ward. I commend the Provinces and Districts that are recognising the appointed women and call on them to put pressure on their colleagues that are not complying with the law to address the situation before the 2022 National elections. Perhaps at the local level, PNG should introduce Parity Laws similar to the Melanesian French territories. Instead of Appointed women at local level, Parliament should legislate for female councillors to be elected by male and female voters just like the male councillors. Political equality will not happen easily in PNG, we need a Government with the commitment to make sure it happens through legislative means. It is simple and has no cost implications. Repeal the present Appointed women provision under the Organic Law and replace with elected positions using a parity law provision before the 2024 LLG elections. PNG would then have 50/50 male/female representation by elective process at the local political level - we would then truly become a Representative Democracy at the local level of politics.

President Joe Biden on Friday said he is now convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the decision to invade Ukraine, but emphasized that room for diplomacy remains. "As of this moment, I am convinced he's made the decision," Biden said during remarks at the White House. The President also said the US believes Russian forces intend to attack Ukraine "in the coming week" or sooner, and that an attack will target the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Biden plans to spend the weekend monitoring the ongoing Ukraine crisis from the White House as he meets with his national security team and remains in close contact with world leaders, multiple officials say. Biden had considered traveling to Delaware, as he typically does, but decided to remain in Washington. Throughout recent days, the Biden administration has publicly disclosed several intelligence details on Russian movements -- a marked shift in how US national security officials typically operate. The administration's decision to discuss their movements "loudly and repeatedly," Biden said Friday inside the Roosevelt Room, was made "to remove any reason that Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine and prevent them from moving." "Make no mistake. If Russia pursues its plans, it will be responsible for a catastrophic and needless war of choice," he added. The President's assertion on Friday that he's "convinced" Putin has "made the decision" to invade Ukraine is a significant change in his position. Biden previously stated he did not believe the Russian leader had made up his mind, but acknowledged his insights into Putin's thinking were limited. He did note that he hoped diplomacy could de-escalate the situation, saying on Friday that "diplomacy is always a possibility." Questioned on why he believed Putin is considering diplomacy at all, Biden said only: "We have a significant intelligence capability." Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova rebutted Biden's comments, denying that Russia intends to invade Ukraine, according to state-run news agency RIA-Novosti. "The American president also repeated the unsubstantiated thesis about Russia's alleged attempts to 'attack' Ukraine, threatening Moscow with sanctions in the event of an escalation. The Russian Federation categorically denies such statements and escalation plans attributed to it," RIA said. White House officials have warned that Russia could face extensive sanctions if it invades Ukraine, calling them "the most severe measures we've ever contemplated against Russia." Biden said Friday that Russian misinformation is building up to a false justification for Putin to invade Ukraine, accusing Russia of ceasefire violations in the "rapidly escalating crisis." "Over the last few days, we've seen reports of a major uptick in violations of the ceasefire by Russian-backed fighters attempting to provoke Ukraine in the Donbas," Biden said, pointing to multiple examples of disinformation that he said have been spread by Russian state media, including a "phony" claim of genocide in the Donbas region. But the claims by the Russians simply don't make sense, Biden argued, saying, "It defies basic logic to believe the Ukrainians would choose this moment -- with well over 150,000 troops arranged on its borders -- to escalate a year-long conflict." Despite the US' assessment of an imminent invasion of Ukraine, Biden said that it's up to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to decide whether he will attend this weekend's security conference in Germany. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to meet with Zelensky during the conference on Saturday. Earlier on Friday, the White House blamed Russia for a massive cyberattack on Ukraine earlier in the week. "We believe that the Russian government is responsible for widescale cyberattacks on Ukrainian banks this week. We have technical information that links the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU, as known GRU infrastructure was seen transmitting high volumes of communication to Ukraine based IP addresses and domains," said Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology. The attribution for the attack was unusually fast for the US government, and Neuberger noted that Russia has previously benefited from US delays in attributing Russian hacking operations. "Russia likes to move in the shadows and counts on a long process of attribution so it can continue its malicious behavior against Ukraine in cyberspace, including pre-positioning for its potential invasion," Neuberger told reporters in the White House briefing room. Biden's speech on Friday comes amid escalating tensions in the region. Nearly half of Russian forces surrounding Ukraine are in attack position, according to a defense official familiar with the latest assessment. The number of battalion tactical groups has swelled to approximately 120 to 125. The official said the Russian military has continued to move forces toward the border, and within the last 48 hours, the number of forces in attack position has reached 40% to 50%. US Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Michael Carpenter warned earlier Friday that the US has assessed a significant Russian military buildup near Ukraine just in the last two weeks. "Russia probably has massed between 169,000-190,000 personnel in and near Ukraine as compared with about 100,000 on January 30," he said in a statement at the OSCE meeting. That includes Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine as well as the Russian-led forces in eastern Ukraine, which have not been included in previous US assessments of Russia's strength in the area. Shortly before his remarks, Biden spoke with allies in North America and Europe. He will hold a phone call with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO to discuss the ongoing crisis. During the call, the leaders "expressed deep concern" about the situation and reiterated their support for Ukraine and discussed further economic assistance to the country, according to a White House statement. "They pledged to continue pursuing diplomacy to de-escalate tensions while ensuring readiness to impose swift, coordinated economic costs on Russia should it choose further conflict. The leaders also discussed efforts to ensure the defense and security of NATO's eastern flank," the statement said. The President on Friday also called into a meeting the vice president was holding with members of Congress, who are all attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany and, according to a person in the room, he reiterated the work the US and allies have been doing to try to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine. He also updated the members on the situation at Ukraine's borders. SOURCE: CNN NEWS

PNG Red Cross Society (PNGRCS) is pleased to have received and acknowledged a kind donation of an Led Color Television set from International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday which will be used for conference calls and meetings. The Led Color Television with full conference call/meeting package was presented by ICRC Cooperation Officer Mr. Johnny Yep to Red Cross Secretary General Mr. Uvenama Rova. Mr. Rova was pleased to receive the items on behalf of PNG Red Cross Society at PNGRCS headquarters in Port Moresby and thanked the ICRC for the timely donation. Mr. Rova highlighted that the television set is of a great need to the organization and will be utilized by staff for virtual meetings with partners, donors and will also be used for other Red Cross events and conferences. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank ICRC for taking this initiative to identify a need in our National Society and address it with this timely donation,” Mr Rova said. “With the current increase of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, the television set will be of greater assistance to the Red Cross staff here at the HQ to use for virtual meetings with partners and donors,” he added. The screen was placed at PNGRCS Conference room and will be useful to staff during this period where covid-19 is increasing in the country and face-to-face communication is restricted to some extent.

The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (“ICCC”) wishes to announce to relevant stakeholders and the general public that it has approved Telstra Corporation Limited (“Telstra”) to proceed with its proposal to acquire Digicel (PNG) Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiaries in PNG (together referred to as “Digicel PNG”). ICCC Commissioner and CEO, Paulus Ain said whilst acknowledging that Telstra is one of the four (4) big telecommunication operators in Australia, the ICCC has concluded that this Proposed Acquisition is not likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in any markets Digicel is currently operating in PNG because Telstra has but very limited presence in PNG markets. Mr. Ain said the ICCC therefore decided to allow Telstra to acquire Digicel PNG and its subsidiaries. “The ICCC conducted extensive public consultation on this application.” Mr. Ain added. “This included consultation on the application when it was received and registered, the issue of a Draft Determination to Telstra and all key stakeholders for their comments; and a Conference held on the Draft Determination where all relevant stakeholders were allowed to attend and give oral comments on issues and facts the ICCC assessed in its Draft Determination.” “It is important to inform the public that key institutions like NICTA, Department of Information and Communication, Institute of National Affairs, amongst others agreed with the ICCC’s draft decision to approve the proposed transaction.” Mr. Ain added that the institutions that made strong objections are PNG DataCo, Telikom and PNG Think Tank Group. “All comments and views expressed were deliberated by the ICCC to arrive at this decision to approve.” Mr. Ain said that in its consideration of the likely effects on competition, if the Proposed Acquisition proceeds, the ICCC has, in summary, formed the following conclusions: · Firstly, the Proposed Acquisition is just a replacement of Digicel PNG because Telstra is not a PNG based operator and is not activity competition in any given markets where Digicel is currently operating. Therefore, after the acquisition, Telstra will inherit and assume the current market position of Digicel PNG in all relevant areas of Digicel’s business operations in PNG. · Whilst the ICCC also understands that Telstra has several PNG telecommunication licenses from NICTA, it does so in order to operate its business in PNG such as its supply of telecommunications services to its business and enterprise customers. There is no information suggesting that Telstra competes for customers in PNG, or absent the acquisition, is likely to do so in the future. · The above conclusion meant that the Proposed Acquisition is less likely to have any significant adverse effect on the current level of competition in any markets where Digicel currently has presence. · Whilst the telecommunication industry in PNG is a highly concentrated market, since the acquisition is basically a replacement of Digicel PNG, the current level of concentration will not be affected, post-acquisition. · The ICCC accepts that Telstra is a vertically integrated telecommunications operator (as it provides upstream IP transit services to PNG based customers like DataCo and the mobile carriers). However, the ICCC is of the view that there is sufficient level of competition at the upstream IP Transit service to put competitive pressure on Telstra’s potential foreclosure attempts. Available information also suggests that PNG based customers are able to negotiate the rates offered by Telstra; and there is fewer switching costs. Mr. Ain further stated thatwhilst the ICCC also notes stakeholders’ comments on protecting the consumers’ interests, the ICCC was of the view that such vigorous competitors like Telstra will put competitive pressure on other existing and potential competitors to innovate and bring affordable telecommunication services to the market. When such happens, consumers ultimately benefit. “The ICCC Act requires that if the ICCC is satisfied that a proposed acquisition which is subject of a Clearance application would not have, or would not be likely to have, the effect of substantially lessening competition in a relevant market, the ICCC must give a clearance; and vice versa.” “In this case, the ICCC was satisfied that the acquisition of Digicel PNG by Telstra is not likely to result in substantial lessening of competition in any relevant markets.” “Basically, Telstra has passed the Clearance Test; hence the acquisition must be approved.” The Non-confidential version of the Final Determination is available and can be provided upon request through this email: wtondop@iccc.gov.pg or can be accessed on the ICCC’s website through this link: https://www.iccc.gov.pg/public-register-documents-h/competition/clearance-request/c2021-29-05-nov-2021-telstra-corporation-limited-and-digicel-png-limited-clearance. All queries relating to this matter should be directed to Mr. Steven Sugl, Executive Manager, Competitive Markets & Fair-Trade Division on telephone 312 4600 or e-mail to: ssugl@iccc.gov.pg .

Justice Minister Bryan Kramer is seeking court proceedings for a judicial review on the allegations made against him by the Ombudsman Commission to the Public Prosecutor for alleged misconduct in office. He told PNGHausbung this week that after receiving a letter from the Ombudsman Commission on the 3rd of December last year to respond to the 14 allegations made against him, he requested the Chief Ombudsman for an extension of time to respond to the allegations and also to provide the evidence they relied on to form the opinion that he was guilty of misconduct in office. He said the Chief Ombudsman however denied his request, claiming that it is generally not the practice of the Commission to provide evidence because all their investigations are confidential. “My view on the issue is only if investigation is on foot then information will be kept confidential,” Mr Kramer said. “But once an investigation authority arrives at a decision that the person is guilty of any conduct then they should always be afforded the right to review the evidence and respond to the evidence. For that reason, I never responded to the allegations.” “So I intend to challenge this decision of the Ombudsman Commission not to prevent it from doing its duty but to actually comply to do its lawful duty, and to seek orders from the court directing the Ombudsman Commission to provide me the evidence that it ought to provide in the first instance.” He said his lawyers are currently reviewing the grounds to file the proceedings and in the coming days when the court documents are prepared, they will file to seek judicial review. “But the Ombudsman Commission have every opportunity now to provide me the evidence to avoid us mounting proceedings to further cause any delay.”

Prime Minister James Marape, MP has announced that his Cabinet has cleared the P’nyang Gas Agreement, which now awaits signing between the State and ExxonMobil who is the lead project developer of the Petroleum Retention License (PRL) 3. The Prime Minister said: "When I took office in mid-2019, I committed to the nation better results from resource projects we were going to undertake under my watch and today let me thank ExxonMobil for responding positively to our State’s position to earn more from our country’s national resources. "We started a protracted negotiation that included detaching P’nyang from Papua LNG terms and moving onto a separate template to gain more for the State but at the same time giving respect to our investors' return on their investments. “After almost two years of exchanges, I think we have found the sweet spot where investors will be happy and we the PNG beneficiaries including Western Provincial Government and Landowners will be happy.” The Cabinet meeting approved the gas agreement, which has the following unique features comparative to both PNG LNG and Papua LNG project agreements that the State Negotiation Team led by Chairman Dairi Vele successfully negotiated under Minister Kerenga Kua’s guide. • Total state equity to be at 34.5% over and above the 22.5% allowed by oil and gas act, with ExxonMobil to offload 12% of their stake at fair market price to PNG parties of which PM has committed to offload most to Western Province and Landowners. Comparatively in PNGLNG we only have 19.6% and Papua LNG, the O’Neill Government signed up to only 22.5% as required by Law; • Corrected the definitions of “well head value “of Royalty, Equity and Development Levy so that deductions only feature cost of harvesting the resources unlike present definition in both PNGLNG and Papua LNG; • Secured additional production levy at 3% not given in PNGLNG project and Papua LNG is at 2%; • Secured 5% of total gas domestic use at much cheaper price than Papua LNG’s DMO, a far bigger improvement from PNGLNG; • No tax concessions except the increase on amortization cost and time period that will see PNG picking tax benefits in the later life of the project; • License to develop is to be sequenced with Papua LNG construction where our country will see increase benefits to the economy with both Papua LNG and P’nyang LNG sequenced to construction from 2024 to 2032 instead of just four years for Papua LNG; • With P’nyang coming on board, it means that PNG will be a gas producing nation up to 2060 and PNGLNG beneficiaries will collect toll revenue from P’nyang LNG in the period they are in production; • The P’nyang infrastructure will have capacity to upload other third party stranded gas in Western, Hela and SHP into the future; • The total project economic gain for PNG sits at 59% and with adjustments to the life of the project. It will rest at 63% all within the Marape-Basil Government mandate that SNT had used for the negotiations. PNG should note that in PNGLNG we are gaining at 49% and Papua LNG at 51% so above 59% to 63% is an all-time high for our country. PM Marape commended ExxonMobil for understanding PNG's aspirations by choosing to remain committed to unbundle the 4.4 TCF of gas that, if not developed, would remain in the foothills of our country’s hinterland. More details will be made when the gas agreement is signed next week Tuesday at the Parliament’s State Function room, the Prime Minister said. On a related matter, Prime Minister Marape mentioned Santos Ltd’s positive indications of additional equity in the PNGLNG project, based on his request to Santos if they offload equity in PNGLNG as a result of their acquisition of Oil Search assets. The Prime Minister commended Santos CEO Mr Kevin Gallagher for the good indications thus far saying this should recompense PNG parties in PNGLNG for dilution of their interest to only 19.6% instead of the 22.5% required by law.

Driving the important message of keeping fit and exercising, plus a healthy nutritional diet are all key messages that Trukai would like to drive for a good productive life as they strive to be the food choice of health and wellbeing in PNG. Under Trukai’s TruInspiration campaign that was launched last year with Chef Julz Henao, and their partnership with the Eat Smart Campaign, the rice company is now taking a holistic approach to drive behavioural change by partnering with SME gyms again this year. Trukai recently extended their partnership with three SME Gyms with a combined sponsorship of K30,000. “The three gyms that were selected to continue the sponsorship this year are based on their large engagement on social media, credibility amongst patrons with the services they provide, and their professionalism as an emerging SME in PNG,” said Trukai’s Brands Consumer Manager, Casey Kwasam. The three gyms include East Street Fitness, Peak Fitness and Primal Capital Fitness. Kwasam said that there was a misconception in PNG that exercising and keeping fit was only for professional athletes who participated at international sporting events, or individuals who participated in sporting activities during their leisure time. “Over the years Trukai has sponsored sporting codes and events plus professional athletes who’ve represented the country. However, through this partnership we’d like to drive the message that keeping fit is for everyone, and helps improve their overall wellbeing and life,” said Kwasam. Florence Daple, co-owner of East Street Fitness said their partnership with Trukai was a good fit because it not only built their credentials but it also grew their brand awareness allowing for more trust for competitive advantages in reaching their goals. “This partnership can help us reach out to more Papua New Guineans or even target a different kind of audience building our assistance in fitness and healthy living. We have never partnered with a big organization before, and so this sponsorship with Trukai, a well-established brand that PNG loves, gives us a platform to try to make a bigger difference,” said Daple. The Trukai brand stands for health, quality and flavour, as its rice is vitamin enriched with minerals and vitamins to give Papua New Guineans a healthier choice. Trukai is looking forward to the year ahead with its new partners, and have some exciting promotions and activities for all its consumers.

At Kina Bank, we value our staff and customers and are dedicated to making sure services are provided with great care which reflects our core values – Fairness, Imagination, Reflection, Togetherness and Honesty and in both good and challenging times helps set us apart. ‘’Covid19 continues to present significant health and economic challenges and for us at Kina Bank, the safety and well-being of our employees and customers remains our top priority. Our values have guided our response to this pandemic." "Since the outbreak, Kina Bank has initiated a number of protocols based on guidance from the National Department of Health to protect the health and safety of our employees and customers." "Our employees are the heart and soul of our company and because of their hard work and collaboration with our customers, partners and other stakeholders, we continue to provide much needed essential services to our people,’’ says Executive General Manager Banking, Leseieli Taviri. Kina Bank continues to adhere to the covid19 protocols and the “niupla pasin’’ measure set up by the government. We strive to make banking easier, more convenient and less of a hassle. And are therefore encouraging our customers utilize our digital banking platforms to skip long queues and start doing banking anytime, anywhere. We continue to encourage our customers to follow certain safety measures to reduce the risk of exposure and spread of COVID-19 while accessing our services at our respective branches nationwide. PHYSICAL DISTANCING •We encourage customers to maintain 1.5 meters’ space between themselves while accessing our services at the bank •Furniture’s have been rearranged to observe social distancing and physical contact. •Supervisors will be expected to ensure employees self-enforce physical distancing protocols in all areas. FACE COVERINGS • The use of face coverings, including homemade masks, scarfs, bandanas, or handkerchiefs, are encouraged to be worn at all times. TEMPERATURE MONITORING • Security officers have been equipped with hand sanitizers and Thermal Sensors to monitor movement of customers and employees through the branches. These measures set in place will continue to guide Kina Bank in how we support our employees, customers, and communities to overcome challenges together and emerge stronger than ever. We remain committed to supporting the ‘’Niupla Pasin’’ protocol and encourage everyone to take ownership by adhering to the best practice of prevention.

Controversial businessman Jamie Pang has been arrested and charged today for unlawful sexual penetration. This follows investigations into a video showing a young woman being threatened by a former policeman in the month of October 2021. At the time, ex First Constable Komeng Gubag was still a serving member of the RPNGC. From the statement of the victim, Gubag had picked her up and threatened her not to report an incident involving Pang. Gubag, who has since been dismissed from the Constabulary in January 2022, is currently held in custody on Remand at Bomana CS for another case. He (Gubag) was arrested and charged for this additional offence yesterday- Tuesday 15th of February 2022. Australian Jamie Pang is being held at the PNG Immigration Detention Centre at Bomana on other unrelated issues. This morning Pang was escorted to Boroko Police Station by the joint Immigration and Customs Task Force personnel. He was formally arrested and charged by Boroko CID Sexual Offences Squad on a complaint of Unlawful Sexual Penetration. After being dealt with by NCD CID, he was charged by Police attached to the Immigration & Citizenship Authority. He was charged under the Immigration Act for Breach of Visa in relation to a previous case in which he was convicted by the Court on Firearms charges. Pang has been brought back to Bomana Immigration Detention Centre . He will attend his Court case from there. Assistant Commissioner of Police NCD/Central Mr Anthony Wagambie Jnr has commended the NCD Internal Investigations Unit and CID Sexual Offences Squad for their professional approach in dealing with this. ACP Wagambie Jnr also praised the young women for being brave to come forward to Police. She had lost trust and confidence after going through the ordeal. He has assured her and her family's safety and that Police will deal with anyone who interferes with them. " Everyone has the right to lay a complaint for Police attention when a crime is committed. No one should try to cover up the fact." "A crime is a crime, and Police are mandated to register a complaint, investigate it, then arrest if Police finds credible evidence and ensure it is brought before Court to be prosecuted, to gain conviction." The Court will make a judgment based on how well we do our job based on evidence," stated Mr Wagambie Jnr. "Let me assure our people that there are more good cops than bad ones. We are working very hard to bring back that trust and confidence we have lost over time," said Mr Wagambie Jnr. The investigation continues.