Papua New Guinea’s influential petroleum minister has been charged with assault following a “domestic dispute” near Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach, Australian police announced on Sunday.
Jimmy Maladina, a key figure in ongoing international negotiations over a lucrative natural gas project, was arrested on Saturday morning.
According to the police, they discovered a “31-year-old woman with facial injuries” when called to an address near Bondi, injuries allegedly sustained in an “altercation” with Maladina.
Court documents reveal that Maladina is scheduled to appear in a Sydney court on Thursday, facing charges of “assault occasioning actual bodily harm.”
The 58-year-old minister stated he is “committed to handling this situation with integrity and transparency.”
Papua New Guinea’s extensive and untapped natural gas reserves have drawn significant interest from international investors.
By FCCT Editorial Team
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}