Police have identified a number of suspects in relation to an incident that happened in East Kwaio on Tuesday which resulted in the death of a woman.
Outgoing police commissioner Matthew Varley in his final conference on Thursday told reporters that the suspects are being interviewed and transported to Auki for questioning.
“…And we are continuing to appeal to relatives of parties involved to allow police to do their job,” Mr Varley said.
He extended his condolences to the family of the woman who has passed away and to the families of others who were seriously injured..
“So far we don’t want to comment on the grounds that cause the fight.
“That is still subject to investigation but off course it is important to know that the community has been helping police to work through this serious case peacefully,” he added.
Mr Varley said following the incident that occurred on November 19, a team of the police from Malaita as well as from Honiara were deployed to Afeala’a village in East Kwaio to investigate the fight.
The team from Honiara consisted of officers from the National Crime Investigation Department, Forensics and a pathologist were deployed to the location.
He said the fight resulted in the death of a woman who suffered serious injuries.
Mr Varley said two other men are also receiving medical treatment for serious injuries relating to this incident.
He said he will not go too much into detail as the matter is still under investigation and they are still to receive detailed reports but they have so far identified a number of suspects who are now brought to Auki for questioning.
He said at this stage, it’s believed two parties were involved in the dispute and that it involved knives and other weapons.
Mr Varley appealed to people in that area to remain calm and to allow police to do their job, to investigate this matter and take it properly to its conclusion.
“The chiefs and leaders in that community had been great so far and we asked for their continued assistance to keep peace in their local area.
Mr Varley also acknowledge the good work of officers in Malaita, the Provincial Police Commander (PPC) and his team for working quickly to try and defuse some of the tensions there on November 19 and 20.
The incident is alleged to have occurred at Afeala’a market between members of the same village who are believed to be related to each other.
