PNG Police at the 2015 Pacific Islands Forum meeting. Photo: RNZI / Koro Vaka'uta
In a pre-emptive strike two senior police officers and a lawyer, representing anti-corruption police in Papua New Guinea, have got court orders restraining the commissioner from arresting them.
The director of PNG's fraud and anti-corruption squad, Mathew Damaru, was charged with giving false evidence on Monday over an affidavit he gave in relation to contempt charges against the police commissioner Gari Baki.
Lawyer McRonald Nale, who was working on the case against Mr Baki, says it was obvious he and another fraud squad member, Timothy Gitua, would be charged with the same offence.
Mr Nale says the trio went before the National Court yesterday to seek protection.
"We got orders restraining the commissioner and inspector who charged Mr Damaru and possibly will charge myself and Gitua. We got orders restraining them from investigating or arresting us in relation to those affidavits."
Mr Nale says the charge against Mr Damaru has been stayed.