State seeks arrest of Aussie man for breaching bail conditions
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State seeks arrest of
Aussie man for breaching bail conditions
PORT MORESBY: The State has asked the National Court to
issue a warrant of arrest for a 57-year-old Australian man for allegedly
breaching bail conditions.
Anthony John Ryals and
his son are alleged to have conducted an illegal online gambling business in
Port Moresby about two years ago.
Acting Judge Laura Wawun-Kuvi
acknowledged Solomon Kuku’s oral application for the warrant on Thursday (June
30, 2022) and set July 25 for the matter to be deliberated.
Details of the court proceedings were reported by The National:
Bench warrant sought
for accused Australian
July 4, 2022The
NationalMain Stories
By CLARISSA MOI
THE State has asked
the National Court to issue a bench warrant for a 57-year-old Australian man
for allegedly breaching bail conditions in relation to the conduct of an
illegal online gambling business in Port Moresby two years ago.
Acting Judge Laura Wawun-Kuvi acknowledged the State’s oral application through
lawyer Solomon Kuku on Thursday at Waigani and set July 25 for the matter to
return to court for deliberation.
The State alleged that Anthony John Ryals and his son had conducted an online
betting platform called PNGBet.com during the National Pandemic period in May
2020.
Police were alerted and investigated the complaint and found that the gaming
was unauthorised and illegally conducted.
Ryals was subsequently arrested and charged under section 244 of the National
Gaming Act.
When the matter came to court on Monday (June 27), Kuku told the court that
this was the first case for the National Gaming Control Board (NGCB) to be
brought to the higher court.
Acting Judge Wawun-Kuvi asked if the matter could be heard in the National
Court.
Kuku submitted that the offence under section 244 of the Gaming Control Act was
not captured under the Criminal Code.
However, the State relied on section 260 of the National Gaming Act which
states that the Public Prosecutor can indict offences under the Gaming Act
hence the matter proceeded to Thursday.
Ryals did not appear in court on Monday as well as on Thursday.
Defence lawyer Bill Frizzell told the court that he tried communicating with
his client via email but to no avail.
The State asserted that Ryals had travelled out of the National Capital
District without the permission of the court and had therefore made an
application for an arrest warrant to be issued.
The court also asked the State to file proper affidavit and move the
application when the matter next returned.
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