- Title: File footage of former PNG PM Peter O'Neill as warrant issued for his arrest
- Date: 15th October 2019
- Summary: O'Neill was welcomed by his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang to Beijing in 2016. BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - JULY 6, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF O'NEILL AND CHINESE PREMIER LI KEQIANG INSPECTING GUARD OF HONOUR
- Embargoed: 29th October 2019 07:31
- Keywords: Papua New Guinea Peter O'Neill arrest warrant
- Location: PORT MORESBY, SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, HIGHLANDS REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA / HONOLULU, HAWAII, UNITED STATES / BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA / IWAKI, JAPAN / PARIS, FRANCE / BEIJING, CHINA
- City: PORT MORESBY, SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, HIGHLANDS REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA / HONOLULU, HAWAII, UNITED STATES / BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA / IWAKI, JAPAN / PARIS, FRANCE / BEIJING, CHINA
- Country: Papua New Guinea
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA008B18BWAV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Papua New Guinea police have issued an arrest warrant for former prime minister Peter O'Neill on suspicion of "official corruption" but he was declining to cooperate with police handling the case, the acting police commissioner said on Tuesday (October 15).
The warrant, issued last Friday (October 11), stemmed from an investigation, however police gave no details of what O'Neill was wanted for, citing the sensitivity of investigations.
O'Neill quit as prime minister in May after seven years in the top job amid a wave of discontent over a perceived lack of wealth flowing from major resource projects, and complaints about corruption, which he denied.
A senior police official asked O'Neill, who was at the Crowne Plaza hotel in the PNG capital of Port Moresby on Tuesday morning, to go with him to a police station to be processed.
A spokesman for Prime Minister James Marape, who took over from O'Neill in May, was not immediately available to comment.
O'Neill was elected as Prime Minister in 2012 and 2017, making infrastructure and better roads a priority for the island nation. He led Papua New Guinea to hold the APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Council) Summit in 2018, developing strong relationships with the United States and China.
(Production: James Redmayne) - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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