An Australian man employed by Paladin, the government’s contractor on Manus Island, has been charged with sexual offences against two Papua New Guinean women.
The 59-year-old employee from Brisbane was arrested on 3 April and appeared in court in Lorengau on Wednesday for a committal hearing on the two charges. On Friday, he appeared before a magistrate who adjourned until next month to make a ruling.
The man was charged last week for “sexual touching” of a 31-year-old employee of the Seadler Bay hotel in March, and was charged again after another woman – a 23-year-old Paladin security employee – came forward this week.
The Post Courier reported last week that he had allegedly groped the 31-year-old woman as he walked past her.
The Manus police commander, David Yapu, said she reported the incident to the Paladin management but they “took no action” and so she went to the police, who then arrested him.
The police allege that on 19 March, the man approached the woman at the hotel “and touched her groin and genital areas, including her buttocks”.
“The victim called out and the suspect released his hands,” they said.
The man applied for and was granted bail of $15,000 kina ($6,200), Yapu told Guardian Australia. His passport has been surrendered to the national court registry and he has been ordered not to leave Manus.
Yapu said the man remained at the Seadler Bay hotel.
“No one is above the law and everyone is subject to one rule of law, whether you are local or foreigner,” he said.
“Those expatriate nationals that come to work in Manus must abide by PNG laws and for those who come into conflict with the PNG laws, police will deal with them with accordance to the rule of law.”
Paladin said it could not comment specifically on the matter under the contract arrangements with the Australian government.
A spokesman said the company had continued to keep the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian high commission in PNG informed.
Paladin had also written to Yapu to keep him updated and request further information, and was cooperating with police, the spokesman said.
“Paladin is committed to the highest standards of behaviour and ethical practices and expect all of our staff to always act in accordance with the highest standards of respect towards staff, residents and the communities in which we serve,” he said.
“Any incident or event that falls below these standards is of deep concern to Paladin and we take any allegation of behaviour that doesn’t meet our high standards very seriously as we have demonstrated throughout our work on Manus Island.”
The Department of Home Affairs did not comment specifically on the case but indicated that it could direct Paladin to take action against the employee.
“If allegations are substantiated, the department may, at its sole discretion, give notice to service providers to remove personnel from work in respect of the services provided under the contract,” a spokesman said.
“This is the case for any instance where there is breach of contract or where the department determines that individuals have breached the applicable code of conduct.”
Australian employees contracted to work at the offshore detention centre and accommodation have been linked to several allegations of criminality.
Two expat security officers were alleged to have been involved in the murder of Reza Barati in 2014, but left the country and were never questioned by police.
In 2015, Wilson Security officers allegedly drugged and gang-raped a local woman, but were flown out of the country before police could speak to them.