I got this in the e-mail and decided to put it here for everyone to see.. I do not know if it is a newspaper article.
PLEASE BE WATCHFUL OVER YOUR CHILDREN AND KEEP THEM SAFE..
Kidnappers at large
A new money making scheme is increasingly sealing its zeal in the main cities of Papua New Guinea. It is called the, ‘Was Money’, and relates to kidnappers demanding ransom from families, individuals and old people.
It is steadily picking up the pace in Mt Hagen, Lae and recently has been practiced in Port Moresby.
Justice Timothy Hincliffe, late last year sentenced a couple from the Western Highlands to four years, after convicting them of obtaining goods under false pretence. The court had heard that the couple stole a toddler from her biological mother and then, demanded that they be paid for the trouble, they had in locating the lost child and spending their resources. Their demand was K2,000 to be paid by the child’s parents before they were to release the child. Fortunately the parents were smart and astute and they traced the couple, arrested them and were subsequently sentenced.
Although the media did not report this, the decision reflected society’s ignorance of the existence of what could be a perennial curse. It resembles a sick society that is plagued by laziness, and showcases how pathetic, some Papua New Guineans are, towards earning an honest leaving.
The thugs will stop at nothing. Simply because a lot of people have paid up front some monies and have been threatened because, the kidnappers have their Lot and Section number, mobile and home phones as well home address. The group is believed to be the same ones who are always on the look out for opportunities. They use a network of informants, who, would you believe are living right next to you? The key targets are rich and vulnerable professional couples, who spend considerable time at work. Their children and residence is usually minded by hausmeris, who are also informants. They all share the bonanza, after the ransom is paid. Other targeted groups include single parents, separated women, widows and widowers, the aged and the handicapped.
This is what you can do.
1.Treat every visitor with caution;
2. When you have domestic arguments, settle it in your house. Don’t try to make it a public nuisance by yelling or trying to escape in the night;
3.Scold your children, but do it in a sensible and diplomatic way. Children can get hurt and can make circumstantial decisions that are detriment to you and their wellbeing;
4.Always have someone in your house, preferably a close relative or sibling;
5.Make sure your have a mobile or land line connected to your house;
6.Hide your valuables whenever you have visitors especially those, street kids or your neighbors.
7.Don’t let your kids bring in strangers of friends, who are not known to you;
8.Always watch your kid leave school and be sure, the child is in the company of many other kids. Get to know parents of the children with whom your child is being friends with.
9.Get to know your neighbors but keep a distance. They know you very well and can be the weak link towards the perpetrators; and above all
10.Pray and dedicate your house all the time to God.
There is a market for this unscrupulous misfits, and surprisingly, confused and weak, folks are fueling that market by rushing to meet the demands quickly. That creates a haven for the thugs, who now know that they can get away with it. The real challenge is not the thugs but the populace who create opportunities because of the choice of activities or even, unconscious decisions.
Bear in mind that, these operators are less than 20 and are dumb and naïve, despite camouflaging their stupidity. You the citizen have the upper hand, and you can, through passing this information, create more awareness.
Kidnapping is never a PNG crime. It was practice during the tribal era and has lost its valor. There is no place for kidnappers, who are nothing than misfits and common thieves who, had it not been for the laws should be facing the gallows or a firing squad. Be responsible, pass this message on. Spread the awareness that there are these losers, preying in the hardworking and their, uncharacterized fast money endeavors is about to end.
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