Abduction attempt

Press, 10 October 1984, Page 1

Abduction attempt

NZPA-AAP Port Moresby A gang tried to abduct a New Zealand woman in Port Moresby on Monday. The incident came after the gang rape of a New Zealand girl, aged nine, her mother, and another woman in Port Moresby last Tuesday.

Two youths, aged 15 and 16, have appeared in court in connection with last Tuesday’s gang rape. Another three youths are being questioned and the police are seeking another seven. A “Niugini Nius” reporter and photographer said the New Zealand woman, who was not named, was returning to her home on Monday when she was forced by a

gang into the back of her car. Neighbours went to her aid and the gang threw the woman out of the car and sped off. Policemen gave chase and arrested one of the gang. He was taken to a police station.

In an article titled “Instant justice,” the “Niugini Nius” claimed the gang member was then beaten inside the station by eight policemen. “We could hear the youth howling inside the police station as he was hit,” said a reporter, Angwi Hriehwazi.

Earlier in the day, another woman was held up at knifepoint and had her car' stolen. She was uninjured.

At a school in Port Moresby’s outskirts, 13 youths broke into the headmaster’s house and forced his two daughters into the bedroom. Police arrived in time to prevent any assault. One arrest was made.

Another expatriate woman, this time an Australian, has also been gangraped.

Police said the rape took place during an attack by 10 youths on a house in the eastern highlands centre of Goroka last Wednesday night.

Six youths had been arrested and charged with breaking and entering. They

were also being questioned about the alleged rape. One of the youths is the son of a prominent local politician. His mother gave information to the police which led to his arrest.

The New Zealand Foreign Ministry was tightening security measures for seconded staff at the High Commission in Port Moresby, a spokesman said in Wellington yesterday.

The Ministry was also providing self-defence training for women staff and the families of diplomats as well as offering financial assistance for diplomats abroad to maintain guard dogs.

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