21 Dec 2006

PNG MP Baing guilty of misconduct

2:02 pm on 21 December 2006

A leadership tribunal in Papua New Guinea has ruled that MP Andrew Baing be dismissed from office for misconduct.

The newspaper, The National, reports that the tribunal found it unacceptable that Mr Baing deposited district support grant money into his personal bank account of which he was the only signatory.

The tribunal agreed with the prosecution's claim that ignorance of the constitutional requirements was not a valid excuse.

The decision to ban him from holding a public office for three years will come into effect once it has been signed by the Governor-General.