A Papua New Guinea Leadership Tribunal has dismissed six misconduct charges against a senior MP, Patrick Pruaitch, saying they were "poorly drafted and confusing".
Patrick Pruaitch Photo: Loop PNG
The newspaper, The National, reports that Mr Pruaitch has pleaded guilty to the remaining three charges relating to the late submission of leadership annual returns.
Some of the charges which were thrown out date back to almost two decades ago.
They included allegations that the Aitape-Lumi MP and National Alliance party leader double-dipped on vehicle allowancea and misappropriated a District Support Grant.
The tribunal will reconvene on Wednesday to hear submissions from his lawyers on the fines regarding the remaining three charges,
Outside court, Mr Pruaitch's lawyer Greg Sheppard welcomed the dismissal of the charges, saying they would make a submission on the penalty regarding the late annual returns.