By DALCY LULUA
Brian Bell Home Centres Chairman Ian Clough has expressed disappointment this morning regarding the situation in Gerehu, where members of the public stormed the company’s warehouse and removed items recovered from the January looting.
When answering Sunday Bulletin’s queries, Clough said it was just three weeks after the unfortunate events of Jan 10 but there were still individuals with a desire to steal items not rightfully theirs.
He said the sad part about PNG at the moment was that people will shape the story to be whatever they want it to be.
” Brian Bell didn’t allow anyone to do that,” Clough said. “We never would.
“And irrespective of rumours or someone saying something, it is never ok to go into someone else’s property and take things from them.
“This is what is going wrong with people.
“If I went up into the gardens on the hills of Gerehu and took vegetables from them and told them people “I could”, these people would not accept this.
“So why do they accept this when it comes to other people’s property?”
Clough said the stolen goods were originally returned by the police from the January 10 incident, and they were in the process of sorting and assessing them.
“Unfortunately, due to the volume of products, logistical challenges prevented them from moving the items elsewhere,” he said.
Despite efforts by the police to restore order, a group of criminals took advantage overnight.
Clough said the products were unsaleable and urged people who came across them to either donate to a charity if safe or dispose of them at the Baruni Dump.
Expressing disappointment in the diverse range of people involved, Clough said not only were “criminals and vagrants from the settlements” present but also “individuals in expensive cars” and families with children who participated in stealing more products from the site.
He said there has been no support from the government to any affected business.
“The government has expressed willingness to support but nothing has happened,” Clough said.
“We need action – not promises.”
Picture credit: EMTV Online
