By Loretta B Manele
Police officers in Tulagi arrested two chiefs from Salesapa village in Central province for demanding money.
According to Police Commissioner Mostyn Mangau, the arrest was done during police patrol in Small Ngella on the 17th of this month.
It was alleged that the two chiefs were drunk and approached the victim and his family and demanded SBD $10,000 for compensation.
The two suspects demanded money from the family because one of the sons of one of the family members had an affair with a girl.
These chiefs claimed that the girl was pregnant so they were drunk and went to the family and demanded money from them.
However, there was no proof of pregnancy as reported by the medical authority so the two suspects were arrested and will appear court at a later date.
Mangau appeals to elders in communities, especially to chiefs as well as church leaders and community leaders to deal with such matters using our traditional practices.
“As a chief demanding compensation is not a good look in our culture. As chiefs we are the ones to solve such matters according to our traditional practices rather than taking the law into our own hands and demanding our people to pay compensation.
I urge our community leaders to try and apply our cultural ways of sorting out such matters”
