Mr. Hetinu was the Election Manager for the National Capital District (NCD) in 2017 when he committed the offense. He conspired with the Coordinator for the North-East District and a candidate to induce polling officers and voters with money to vote in favor of the candidate.  Upon a complaint by witnesses, the Police arrested Mr. Hetinu who was found to have in his possession monies totalling K184,300 and a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).

The MoA revealed amongst others and confirmed that the monies were to be expanded to influence people’s votes in ensuring the win of Michael Kandiu a regional candidate. It further revealed that if the candidate won the election, Mr. Hetinu was to be awarded security contracts for the entire NCD for five years subject to renewal.

Justice Berrigan stated that the accused had occupied a public position of authority upon which his actions would reflect the trust and confidence of the people in the Office. Hence his actions were a gross breach of trust.

She further stated that the right to vote is a sacred responsibility enshrined in the Constitution and must be used freely and fairly without any form of influence as it will determine the future of the type of government that will govern the people.

Though there was no clear indication as to what part of the monies were to be distributed by Mr. Hetinu and his accomplices, the heart of the offense was that Mr. Hetinu corruptly received the monies whilst discharging his duties.

Mr. Hetinu was sentenced to seven years with light labor as a grim reminder to potential offenders and to restore confidence and trust in the electoral processes. 

The National Court sentenced Terence Hetinu 51 from the Eastern Highlanes to seven years with light labor for Official Corruption.

A senior public servant attached to the Department of National Planning and Monitoring (DNPM) received a nine-year sentence for misappropriation. The decision was handed by Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika at the National Court.

The 39-year-old Jeffery Yakopya was the Assistant Secretary of the Economic Branch of the department when he committed the offense.

In July 2010 Mr. Yakopya, on behalf of his company Niugini Star Transport Ltd, submitted a proposal to the value of K14.6 million for the construction of roads and bridges in the Magarima District of the Hela province.

In November 2010, K5 million was approved from the proposal under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) or Public Investment Program (PIP) and paid to his company to construct three bridges.

Mr. Yakopya was alleged to have misappropriated these funds and was charged with one count of misappropriation and appeared at the Waigani National Court for trial in which he initially pleaded not guilty.

However, when the Court announced it would visit the site of the projects to verify that the funds had been appropriated accordingly, Mr Yakopya changed his plea to “guilty”. The Court learned only one bridge was built and the monies meant for two other bridges were misappropriated.

When sentencing Mr. Yakopya, the Deputy Chief Justice stated that public servants are employed by the government to serve the people by delivering goods and services meant for them and not stealing from them.

He further stated that honesty is a virtue that all people must attain, maintain, and retain in their lives at all stages of their lives. In this case, he said Mr. Yakopya failed to demonstrate that, even when the matter came on for trial.

The National Court convicted Mr. Yakopya for misappropriation of public money and sentenced him to nine years custody.

In a National Court decision, Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika sentenced former senior state minister Hon. Paul Tiensten to nine years with hard labor imprisonment for the misappropriation of K10 million.

Mr. Tiensten was a senior minister of the then Somare’s National Alliance Government, successively holding the ministries of Trade and Industry, Foreign Affairs, and National Planning and Monitoring. Mr. Tiensten was first elected to parliament in 2002 and had been in political office for over a decade until his sentencing.

Mr. Tiensten used his official powers as the Minister of the National Planning and Monitoring Department to direct the then Secretary Ruby Zariga to make payments of K10 million to Travel Air, an airline business owned by Eramas Wartoto. The funds were paid from monies earmarked for rural freight subsidies as seed capital to get the airline up and running.

Mr. Tiensten was investigated, charged, and prosecuted and found guilty of official corruption, obtaining goods by false pretences, and misappropriation.

In handing down the decision, the Deputy Chief Justice said Mr. Tiensten used his “political muscles” to direct his official to facilitate the grant ignoring proper assessment procedures.

He further stated that it was a breach of trust and abuse of position whilst occupying a position of trust as an elected MP and appointed Minister of State to commit this offense and it involved a lot of money, hence rendering it a serious offense.

Mr. Tiensten was sentenced to nine years with hard labor adding that four years would be deducted if K10 million was repaid.

A former member of parliament had been sentenced to seven years in jail for misappropriating more than K1 million.

Mr. Philip Kikala was a member of the Lagaip-Porgera district of the Enga province between 2007 and 2012. Mr. Kikala, being the Parliamentary member of the district and chairman of the District Development Authority (DDA) convened a DDA Board (formerly JDP & BPC) meeting.

During this meeting, Mr. Kikala alluded that the members of the Board agreed that his company named as West Rural Industries Limited be awarded the contract of building staff houses for the Pyrethrum and Potato processing facilities at an allocated cost of K500,000. These funds were to be drawn from the unused District Services Improvement Program (DSIP) for the years 2010 and 2011 totalling K1 million. The Company was registered by the Member while being a Member of Parliament.

Mr. Kikala then wrote to the Department of Rural Development and Implementation citing that for prevention of misuse by the District and Provincial public servants, the funds be paid directly to his company account held with the Bank South Pacific rather than through the district treasury as was the norm.

Four transactions with varying sums totalling K1,107,000 were made into the bank account of West Industries Limited meant for housing projects, chicken house projects, consultations, and project management fees.

It was later revealed that there was no Board meeting. Further, no acquittals or projects were done to justify the transactions.

The National Court sentenced the former member of parliament to seven years in prison adding that if the accused repaid the monies in full at any time, five years of the seven-year sentence term will be suspended.

The former MP appealed the conviction decision but was dismissed by a three-man Supreme Court bench which ruled that Kikala be remanded to serve seven years in prison.

In a protracted court battle that lasted a decade, the National Court has served its verdict on Paul Paraka over the misappropriation of more than K162 million state monies. Mr. Paraka (aged 54) from Western Highlands province was sentenced to twenty (20) years.

Mr Paraka was a senior lawyer and owner of Paul Paraka Lawyers (PPL). In 2000, the Attorney General and Solicitor General’s office engaged Mr. Paraka’s law firm to work on behalf of the state in civil litigation matters. The payments of K162 million were made purportedly for legal fees between 2007 and 2011.

Every year, for five years, Mr Paraka procured a person or persons within the Department of Finance to dishonestly apply monies to his use and the use of others. The monies were paid by way of 65 cheques to a property investment company known as PKP owned by Mr Paraka and through seven other law firms – none of which had any entitlement to the monies.

In the case of the monies paid to the law firms, they at least retained a small part of the monies before paying the balance to the PKP or the Paraka Lawyers.

This was a carefully planned and calculated scheme to distance the accused from the money funnelled and avoid detection.

The National Court found Mr. Paraka guilty of five counts of misappropriation on which ten (10) years were given for each offense. However, it was reduced to 20 years taking into consideration the offender’s health and charitable and professional contributions to the community.

The National Court sentenced former acting chairman of the Securities Commission and Registrar of Companies Alex Tongayu to three years in jail, after finding him guilty of two counts of forgery.

Mr. Maru, the Minister for Trade Commerce and Industry, had requested information and advice on a change of a company’s ownership which he regarded as suspicious. Following an unsatisfactory response, Mr. Maru revoked Mr Tongayu’s appointment as acting chairman of the Securities Commission on October 20 2016.

In response, Mr Tongayu forged Mr Maru’s signature and it was inserted electronically on two instruments of appointment to the same roles to which he previously occupied. The instruments were published and gazetted while Maru was away in his electorate. However, Maru learned of the incident when he returned to Port Moresby and revoked the gazettes before reporting the matter to the Police.

When sentencing Mr Tongayu, Justice Berrigan stated that to forge the signature of a member of the Government is extremely serious and had tarnished the reputation of those offices and undermined the confidence of the public in the administration of government services. In August 2021, the National Court found Tongayu guilty of two counts of forgery and sentenced him to three years in prison.

The National Court sentenced a former customs officer to four years in prison for official corruption and conspiracy to defraud.

Runny Dau Jiwaka province committed the offense while serving as a cargo officer at the Motukea Wharf Port Moresby.

Between August and September of 2018, Dau corruptly received K5,000 and conspired with others to allow a shipment of contraband cigarettes into the country. Normal processes were bypassed, and formal inspections of the shipment failed to happen before it was cleared. The 20ft shipping container contained 418 cartons of contraband cigarettes worth more than K2.8 million. The container also contained other unregistered items.

When sentencing Mr Dau, Justice Berrigan stated that Dau’s actions enabled the importers to avoid tax payments and customs duties on the contraband cigarettes which is a loss to the state. Moreover, Customs is a front-line agency protecting the country and its people from harmful and dangerous goods.

The court needed to treat such offenses seriously and sentence offenders to custodial sentences as a warning to other public servants.  The National Court sentenced Dau to four years in prison for one count of conspiracy to defraud and one count of official corruption.

A probationary constable gets four years in prison with hard labor for official corruption on two separate occasions.

Johnathan Kara 27 of the Western Highlands province was sentenced by Justice Miviri on July 3, 2018, at the National Court. Mr Kara was a probationary officer attached to the Gordon Police Station in the National Capital District when he committed the offenses.

Kara released an individual from custody who had been arrested for selling stolen mobile phones. This individual later revealed to police investigators that he paid K200 to Kara for his release.

In another incident, Kara received a K300 from another individual and released him from custody without the authority of the shift supervisor. This second individual was later rearrested for a traffic offense and was found to have escaped custody. It was then that he revealed to Police investigators that Kara had been paid K300 to release him. Justic Miviri sentenced Mr Kara to four years for accepting a bribe and aiding or abetting a prisoner in lawful custody to escape.

Doreen Tatut from the East New Britain province was a lodgement officer with the Department of Lands. Ms Tatus was sentenced to three years but the sentence was suspended and she will complete community service.

Ms Tatut solicited K450 from an individual to replace a property title. The individual paid the legal application fee of K500 and was issued an official receipt, and then Ms Tatut asked for an additional K450.

The case was revealed when the title document could not be issued and the matter was reported to the police.

On sentencing Ms Tatut, Justice Berrigan said that public officials are demanding money for simply doing their job. The judge described corruption as a cancer that grows until it becomes so entrenched and becomes accepted as a normal part of doing business in the public sector.

Ms Tatut was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison for one count of official corruption,  However the sentence was reduced,  on receipt of a K2000 fine and community work for up to a day per week for a year.

A former Secretary for the PNG Works and Implementation Department was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence for abuse of office.

Joel Luma, 61 from East Sepik province was arraigned in the Waigani Committal Court before Magistrate Mekeo Gauli.

Mr Luma was the Secretary of Works between July 2009 and February 2013. He approved 44 minor works contracts valued at K9.5 million to Road Stoa Limited. From the 44 contracts, the Court found that 11 contracts awarded in 2009 and 2010 had not circumvented the procurement processes.

However, 16 contracts awarded in 2011 had been issued certificates of inexpediency without authority. These contracts were also deliberately structured to be within his financial delegation limit as Secretary and public tender requirements. Additionally, Mr Luma made false statements in an internal memo to the finance division to fast tract payments to the company. He also deliberately attempted to conceal his conduct from senior officers of the Department.

The Court found the accused to have wilfully abused the authority of his office and convicted him of one count of abuse of office.

Mr Luma was sentenced to two years imprisonment. Following an appeal, the conviction was upheld in 2023.

David Kaya and Philip Kaman were arraigned by the Waigani National Court for misappropriating K5 million belonging to the landowners of East Awin in Western province. 

Kaya, 50 was from Western province and Kaman, 42 was from Jiwaka province. Kaya was chairman of Paiso Company Ltd – a landowner company for the people of East Awin. Kaya was following up on compensation claims on behalf of landowners. The claim was for damages to the people’s customary land that was acquired by the State in 1987 in East Awin to settle refugees from West Papua. Kaman was Kaya’s lawyer.

In 2009 and 2012 Kaya collected part payments that was made by the State. In 2014 Kaya submitted claim for K5 million compensation to the Department of Treasury under the name Paiso Company Ltd and was paid that amount. However, this payment was instructed by Kaya to be deposited into the trust account of Kaman & Company Lawyers owned by Philip Kaman. No beneficiary landowner received the payments.

The Court found that between October and December of 2014, the funds were misappropriated through various transactions, including cash withdrawals and transfers and payments of motor vehicles including servicing the Kaya’s various personal debts without any proper records being kept.

Sir Gibbs upon sentencing said that the people of Awin not only lost their land but also this money at the hands of men placed at positions of authority and trust.

The men were sentenced to 15 years respectively and was held that five years would be deducted from each if they repaid the K5 million to the people of East Awin.

A businessman from Kokopo in East New Britain province was sentenced to 10 years for charges of misappropriating public funds. 

Eremas Wartoto, 54 at that time was the owner of Saralok West Transport and was awarded a K7.9 million contract in November 2008 by the Government to rehabilitate the Kerevat National High Schoolin East New Britain. The facilities included the school’s dormitories, water supply and sewage systems. It was agreed that 85% of the money would be paid in advance to commence the project and the remainder would be paid upon project completion.

It was alleged that, between January and June 2009, Mr Wartoto misused the K6.7 million (85%) advanced payment by paying unrelated bills for debts incurred prior to the Kerevat contract and purchase of vehicles for his hire car business.

In October 2009 the remaining 15% was released by the National Planning department even though Saralok West Transport had not completed the project.

The National Court found and charged Wartoto, on the first count of misappropriating the K6.7 million (85%) but on the second count of misappropriating it stated that there was no criminal intent in misappropriating the K1.89 million (15%) as it was released by the Department of National Planning and Monitoring without assessing the first payment. Moreover, it was concluded that only K345 662 was spent on the Kerevat National High School. Wartoto was sentenced to 10 years in prison and the court ruled that if he repaid K3.9 million within four months, then four years would be suspended, and he would be placed on good behaviour bond for three years. In 2019, an appeal against this conviction was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Two former public servants and a local businessman were charged with misappropriating K473, 575 belonging to the Anglimp South Waghi District in Jiwaka Province.

• Paul Guli, 38 from Western Highlands Province worked as District Treasurer.
• Gogumi Kimin, 52 from Jiwaka Province worked as the District Administrator.
• Andrew Kama Alake, 40 from Jiwaka Province is a businessman and leader.

Mr Kimin submitted various claims to the District Office, which were  authorised by Mr Kama. The claims were for vehicle hire, road maintenance and travel allowances. Mr Alake also submitted fraudulent claims and received payments, and the dishonestly applied the sums to his own use.

Guli and Kimin went on to sign and approve the payment of a sum of K473,575. From that payment, Kama received K105,400 for his claims, Guli received K2000 and Kimin received K107,000. Kama received another payment of K60,000 again for fraudulent claims for another vehicle hire and K10,000 for independence celebration.

All these payments were made from the District Services Improvement Programme (DSIP) without the approval form the Joint-District planning and Budget Priority Committee (now District Development Authority Board).

The Court found that when Guli and Kimin approved the various payments of K473,575, they were in breach of the Public Finance Management Act and the Financial Instructions, and when they benefited from the payments, they dishonestly applied the money to their own use and the use of others.

The court also found that when Kama received payments for the fraudulent claims, he dishonestly applied the sum of K165,400 to his own use and the use of others and that the funds were not used in its intended purposes.

The court sentenced Kimin and Kama to five years in prison respectively because the money they misappropriated was large. Guli was sentenced to two years for Guli because his culpability in the offence was lesser then Kimin and Kama. In 2022, the Supreme Court refused an appeal against these convictions.