27 Oct 2005

Police-backed raid in Papua New Guinea left man dead, MP claims

2:41 pm on 27 October 2005

An MP in Papua New Guinea says a police-backed raid on a settlement in Oro province has left one man dead, several others wounded, and 10 houses burnt down.

The newspaper, The National, reports the MP Peter Oresi as saying a senior police officer from Popondetta authorised a police escort to travel with a group of villagers to go and damage the settlement.

Mr Oresi claims several poultry and piggery projects were also damaged in the incident at the weekend.

The police minister, Bire Kimisopa, told parliament that he was not aware of the incident and he would ask the police commissioner.