POLICE reported a disturbing incident that occurred last Friday at the Metropolis Development site at Mamara, west Guadalcanal.
It involved a group of men who entered the site and caused damages to properties there.
Some police officers were involved, according to Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Guadalcanal Province, Chief Superintendent Alfred Uiga.
“The group of men have entered the Mamara site on three vehicles fully armed with weapons,” Uiga said.
“They moved in aggressively and chased the Chinese workers, shouting abusive words at them,” he added.
Uiga said the men went there to demand compensation following allegations a Chinese worker harassed two female local workers employed in the kitchen.
First, the alleged involvement of police officers in such incident is not only unlawful, but also unethical.
Of all people, police officers are the ones who should to be upholding the law in every circumstance.
This is why they are called disciplinary officers.
No matter how big the challenge is, police officers must at all time learn to be disciplined and law abiding.
Officers allegedly involved in this incident must be investigated and disciplined.
The alleged harassment of the two local girls by their Chinese boss, which sparked Friday’s incident, must be investigated too.
If the girls have not reported the matter yet, they should do so with the police and other bodies like the Family Support Centre.
This is a serious allegation and one that must be promptly dealt with.
No girl should be subjected to sexual harassment in their place of work.
Foreigners coming in to work need to understand they have no right to mistreat or harass their local workers, irrespective of their gender.
It is wrong both in law and custom to do that.
Metropolis Development and the police need to sort this matter out quickly to avoid further hostility and resentment.
This is important for the progress of the proposed township development.
