Napping PNG court official locked up

A senior Papua New Guinea judge has locked up one of his court officials for sleeping on the job.

At Lae, on PNG's northwestern coast, Judge Nicholas Kirriwom ordered a court aide be held in the cells after he twice caught him napping during a murder trial.

Judge Kirriwom first warned the associate to stop snoozing after the state prosecutor had complained there was no one to whom he could hand a court document.

"If you are not going to be helpful to the court, then guards take him to the cells," said the judge.

"If he shuts his eye, take him to the cells. That'll wake him up. Keep an eye on him."

But the catnapping associate couldn't help himself.

And when the judge again found him dozing off later in the trial, he ordered guards to take him down and hold him in the cells for a while.

But the judge was even more angry to discover he was left without an official court attendant.

"This is the headquarters of the Supreme and National Courts of PNG and there's not even a court attendant in this courtroom!" he grumbled.

Meanwhile, PNG's top cop, Commissioner Gari Baki, was just as exasperated when he and his family encountered some overly-officious security guards at Port Moresby airport.

On their return to the capital on Monday, the family got into an argument with security staff over lost luggage.

One of Baki's bags had gone missing and the spat escalated as security guards unnecessarily checked the family's remaining luggage, PNG's Post Courier newspaper reported.

But things really got out of hand when one of the security guard shouted at Commissioner Baki's daughter, the paper said.

"When I tried to intervene, he (security) pointed his finger at me and said: 'You shut up'," the paper quoted Commissioner Baki as saying.

"And when I said: 'You know who you are talking to?' my nephews had already punched the guy.

"If they are treating me like this, I am sorry for the rest of our people who have to go through this."

In another incident reported this week, four suspects brought in for questioning over the rape of an 11-year-old girl, escaped from custody at an unguarded Southern Highlands Province police cell because none of the officers clocked on for the night shift.