The District Police Station in Aitape, Sandaun Province has been closed since last week due to poor hygiene standards of their cells.

Since condemnation by the District Health Office, the police station had to send their detainees to Vanimo by boat on the weekend.

The Police Station Commander (PSC) Paul Vavena commented that the condemnation came at a bad time since the new year was coming soon and there would be a need for the station to be functional.

He added that a good example was the recent break in at one of Aitape's major enterprises, Canopus No.98. Two of their shipping containers delivered this were ripped open and all the goods ransacked.

The PSC has reported that any suspects from this incident caught will also be sent to Vanimo, because there were no facilities to keep them here in Aitape.

"It will also be very difficult for us to contact our counterparts in Vanimo to sent the police boat for the detainees, because we've also been experiencing communication problems," said Mr. Vavena.

He also added that the various existing problems were all due to lack of funding from the police headquarters and also negligence by the police officers to take the initiative in looking after their working environment, especially the cells.