SOLOMON IS: Police Commissioner outraged at claims
Updated
Solomon Islands Police Commissioner Jahir Khan has cricitised the media for questioning the recent use of a patrol boat. Mr Khan told Pacific Beat that as Police Commissioner he's not answerable to the media about how he uses the police patrol boats. Mr Khan was reacting to a report in the Island Sun newspaper which accused him of grossly misusing one of the Australia-funded patrol boats for a leisure trip. The paper claimed that a number of senior police officers with their spouses, used the Patrol Boat Lata on the pretext of visiting the Tulagi Police Station in Central Province to spend hours drinking at the nearby Maravagi resort. But Commissioner Khan says it was an official trip and he did not like being questioned about it.
Presenter: Sam Seke
Speakers: Jahir Khan, Police Commissioner Solomon Islands
KHAN: First of all I'd like to say that I don't have to explain to anybody about our trip to Tulagi. I'm only answerable to the government of Solomon Islands, right, and the government hasn't asked me any questions about it.
I went there on an official visit to see the police station and a company attending me was the assistant police commissioner for Fiji, and that was it for that particular visit. As we went down to Maravagi, to visit Maravagi, just to have our lunch at Maravagi and then we came to Honiara. What is wrong with it? I am police commissioner, I am authorised to use the patrol boat and I would like to use it as I like it. I don't answer to any media or anybody.
SEKE: Yeah, but it's said that the trip has actually inconvenienced a schedule patrol?
KHAN: Well, you people are quite entitled to take action against me, the media if you want to take action against me. I don't have to explain to the media. You are asking questions of the police commissioner, not any Tom, Dick, and Harry.
SEKE: The other thing that was alleged in the newspaper was that it was a gross misuse of Australian taxpayers money?
KHAN: Well, then take action against me if you think it was a gross misuse. Nothing is stopping you guys from taking action against me. You lower yourself so down, try and ask me this kind of questions. These are not questions of national interest. We have more issues on national interest to look at currently in the Solomon Islands, not by using some of the assets that belong to the police commissioner and the Solomon Island police force.
SEKE: So who actually is paying for the fuel for the patrol boat?
KHAN: Well, it was an official visit, so the government pays for it. I'm really surprised at how little the media can stoop in order to ask these kind of rubbish question to me, you know. I'm really surprised about the mentality of the media.
