By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
Two females accused of stealing a child less than seven days old were set free after the Waigani District Court found out that police laid wrong charges against them.
Magistrate Samson Tatakali struck out the charges last Thursday after discovering that Lydia Eliot and Rose Thomas were each charged under Section 361 (1)(a) of PNG Criminal Code Act(CCA) –Chapter 262 . That section caters for stealing of property and not for stealing a child or human being. Tatakali struck out the case saying that the suspects can still be rearrested and re-charged under an appropriate section of the CCA that caters for child stealing. Tatakali also ordered for their bail money to be refunded.
According to police information before the Court, Ms Eliot, 21 from Hisiu village, Kairuku District, Central Province and her co-accused Rose Thomas, 23 from Gabagaba village Rigo District, Central were accused of planning to steal a baby and presenting the baby to Ms Eliot’s boyfriend to convince him that he was the baby’s father. The two accused hatched the plan after Ms Elliot had a miscarriage during pregnancy and lost her baby.
Ms Elliot had moved in with her boyfriend at Rainbow estate in Gerehu and lived with him. She then felt pregnant in August 2020 and went for a pregnancy test at Rain bow stop and shop pharmacy and it was tested positive. She then left to be with her mother to be taken take care of by her mother. Then In November 2020 she allegedly had a miscarriage and lost a child and kept it a secret from her boyfriend. And that’s when she met up with Ms Thomas to hatched a plan to steal a baby and take it to Ms Elliot’s boyfriend
Both accused then went to the Labour Ward at the Port Moresby General Hospital and noticed a young lonely mother who had just delivered a baby and befriended the mother of the new born baby. They bought food and gifts for the baby and the mother to convinced the mother that they were genuine friends. The mother then got discharged from the Hospital and when to her house at Gordons. And on January 2021, Ms Thomas visited the mother who was happy to see her. During the visit Ms Thomas took the baby without the notice of the mother and took the baby to Vision City where she met with Ms Elliot and gave her the baby.
From Vision City both accusers went to Ms Elliot’s boyfriend’s house at Rainbow and presented the baby conning the boyfriend that Ms Elliot had delivered the baby whom the boyfriend was the father. The boyfriend was so happy to keep the baby until police raided the house a week later and arrested the boyfriend while both accused were out of the house. The boyfriend was arrested and taken to Gordons Police station while the baby was reunited with the biological mother.
Police then released the boyfriend after finding him innocent during the interview. Police then searched for both accused and finally arrested them in November last year and charged them. They are now out on bail till last Thursday when the Court freed them.
