Acting Police Commissioner, Aru Maralau, has stepped aside and allowed the Police Service Commission appoint Lieutenant Colonel Job Esau as Deputy Police Commissioner.
Lt Col Maralau is appearing on charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and soliciting false imprisonment with 10 other Police officers on 26 January next year.
Deputy Commissioner Essau was appointed last Thursday.
The 10 serving police officers received about Vt11 million among them in a Civil case no. 242 of 2012 for false imprisonment between two hours and seven and half hours in a decision handed down by Supreme Court Judge, Robert Spears.
Daily Post investigations found out that at that time the Public Prosecutor consented their was no criminal case against the 10 police officers on charges of mutiny and conspiracy and the officers sued the state for false imprisonment.
Now the Public Prosecutor has amended the charges to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and soliciting false imprisonment stemming from the arrest of Police Commissioner, Arthur Caulton and the brief arrest of the then PSC chairman, Tony Ata in 2012.
There are more than 90 witnesses in the amended charges against the 10 Police Officers and the Acting Police Commissioner, Mr Maralau.
The question asked by the public is why has the Prime Minister written to Vanuatu Police Force to instruct them to stop investigations in the criminal case against police officers.
And why has it taken so long for the Prosecutions to come up with the charges against the Police Force members until about now when police are investigating the alleged bribery case involving 16 Members of Parliament.
The bribery case against 16 Opposition MPs will go before the Courts on January 8 and some members of the police investigating the bribery case are also implicated in the new Public Prosecutor charges against the Police Force members.
Observers say police should not only investigate each other or investigate politicians but should also provide security and safety for the small man on the street.
Driving under the influence of alcohol, drunk and disorderly, noise pollution, a woman’s corpse is found in the sea, but Police do not investigate.
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