Son in coma, cop-dad irate

 

March 9, 2022Main Stories

By MIRIAM ZARRIGA
THE father of young man in a coma in hospital after being allegedly assaulted by policemen wants justice for his son, and those responsible, punished.
Dad Benjamin Naraboi, a policeman with the rank of senior constable, spoke out after around 100 families living at the Games Village and Gordon police barracks in Waigani, Port Moresby signed a petition to raise their concern over the conduct of members of a police rapid response unit.
It follows the hospitalisation of 21-year-old Samuel Naraboi who was allegedly assaulted by members of the unit in Waigani on Feb 27.
He is fighting for his life at the Port Moresby General Hospital after an operation on his skull.
He remains in a coma.
Constable Naraboi said his son could not recognise them when they visited him.
He said the families at the barracks and Games Village wanted the constabulary to ensure that all police units were properly supervised.
“As it is, the units do not seem to have any senior officer to keep an eye on what is happening,” Constable Naraboi said.
“The attitudes of some of the officers show that they do not respect anyone who is ranked higher than them.
“The petition states clearly that we want the units to be supervised and (the policemen follow) their standard operating procedures under the police ethics on how to handle suspects.”
He said he had once served in one of the rapid response units “(but) we never assaulted anyone, the way they did to my son and countless others”.
“It’s time that we as parents stand together and ensure we hold policemen accountable for their actions against our children and other individuals in this city and across the country.”
The assault on Samuel occurred on Feb 27 between 6am and 7am when he and a friend came across a betel-nut seller at the bus stop in Waigani. Samuel asked the vendor for a betel-nut but was allegedly sworn at by the vendor.
As they were leaving, an off-duty policeman who arrived in his vehicle chased Samuel and his friend, shouting and alerting everyone to stop them as they were robbers.
Samuel was assaulted and as he lay on the ground, the off-duty officer allegedly kicked him on the face.
Members of the police unit who arrived at the scene picked up Samuel and dragged him into the police vehicle.
Samuel’s mother Regina, after being told of what had happened, went to the town police station.
She said: “I asked what they did to him. They said he was drunk and had been smoking marijuana. I said whatever my son did, leave it for now.
“Let me take him to the hospital. They refused. I argued and they finally said yes.
“I then told them to take me and my son to the hospital.
“Instead of going to the hospital, we went to the St John Ambulance office and the officers asked the ambulance officers to treat my son. They were told to take him to Port Moresby General Hospital.”