A New Zealand police officer with the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands is expected to return to New Zealand after being attacked yesterday on the remote south coast of Guadalcanal.
Constable Chris Renata was on a routine RAMSI patrol when he confronted a group of six wanted men, led by Alphonseus Toghovotu who is being sought for violent offences dating back to 1999, while on routine business at a medical clinic.
The group, carrying machetes, attacked Constable Renata who was slashed on the leg.
The injury is described as serious, but not life threatening.
Jonathan Austin, the deputy special co-ordinator for RAMSI, says many details of the attack remain unclear.
"It is pretty usual for people here to carry a machete. It is the kind of thing you take to your garden or when you are going into the bush, so that in itself is not unusual, but these guys have been wanted by the police for a long time and I guess they were just not expecting to find a RAMSI police officer there when they turned up at the medical clinic."
