POLICE Commissioner Toami Kulunga should be jailed for six months to show that court orders must be complied with, a lawyer submitted in the Waigani National Court yesterday.
Sam Bonner, representing former assistant police commissioner Geoffrey Vaki, said Kulunga had breached a court order and had not been able to offer any defence. The court should impose the strongest punishment possible, he told Deputy Chief Justice Gibbs Salika who was hearing the matter. Salika extended Kulunga’s bail and deferred his ruling to June 13. Kulunga sat in the dock in full uniform before a packed courtroom. Kulunga was convicted of contempt of court for failing to abide by an Oct 1, 2012 court order to reinstate Vaki as assistant police commissioner (operations). The 2012 order quashed the decision of the National Executive Council to revoke Vaki’s appointment. Kulunga’s lawyer Lance Okil said his client should not be jailed as his offence was not intentional and it was also not “the worst type of contempt”. He said Kulunga genuinely made an effort to comply with the court orders. He urged the court to consider Kulunga’s apology and impose a fine instead. He said Kulunga was a first-time offender and a public servant who had served the police for more than 40 years. Chief Justice Sir Salamo Injia is expected to hear Kulunga’s appeal against the conviction today. PNG Facts/ The National Comments are closed.
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