Namah accused of gay sexual harassment and corruption

Namah wanted to gamble $800,000 and f*** a male casino operater

The minister, the Star and the rules of the game
Sean Nicholls, Matthew Moore, Ilya Gridneff
March 14, 2012

Sydney Morning Herald

THE Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Belden Namah, allegedly sexually harassed a blackjack dealer at the Star casino last year before being thrown out for threatening staff while drunk.

Despite this, the casino readmitted Mr Namah, an opposition MP at the time, after it realised he and his colleagues planned to gamble hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Herald understands.
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But Mr Namah denies he is the person described in five separate incident reports, including one in which he is named by casino staff. His lawyer, Greg Sheppard, said Mr Namah ''did not misconduct himself'' at the casino.

''Until we are provided with the incident reports in question, Mr Namah is unable to comment further on how his name appears on these reports, except to say that if it does, they are mistaken,'' Mr Sheppard said.

Mr Namah is a former PNG military officer who became forestry minister in the government of Michael Somare before joining the opposition, which deposed Sir Michael last year.

Incident reports by staff show Mr Namah and two colleagues were gambling in the Sovereign Room for high rollers when approached about 7am on April 16 last year and asked to stop drinking ''as they were deemed to be approaching intoxication''.

A blackjack dealer's statement said that after being asked to stop drinking, Mr Namah began ''teasing me by asking my mobile number''. Mr Namah is then alleged to have asked him: ''Can I f--- you tonight?''.

When he was being removed from the casino, Mr Namah allegedly told either a manager or security guard: ''You may be big but I will knock you on your f---ing arse''.