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Friday, March 27, 2009
Lanej left to rot in jail
By GIFF JOHNSON
High Court Chief Justice Carl Ingram is outraged, and the Ministry of Justice is the target of his umbrage over its continued inability to comply with RMI Constitutional requirements governing prisoners.
At a hearing last week in what might otherwise have been a routine assault case from an outer island, Ingram discovered that Bai Lanej had been held in Majuro jail for more than a year without a court hearing. This is the second illegal detention of a prisoner in as many months by the national police. Ingram focused his criticism on the two lawyers present — prosecutor and Acting Attorney General Tion Nabau and Chief Public Defender Russell Kun —and on the Ministry of Justice as a whole. The development with Lanej comes a month after a similar incident — for which Ingram criticized the Ministry of Justice in an order — where a prisoner was held one month beyond his sentence release date without being brought to the court for review. “Only five weeks ago, in
connection with the detention of Jilly Betwell for escape, the Court admonished both counsel to check Majuro Jail to ensure no one is being held without being brought before the Court,” Ingram wrote in his order following Lanej’s initial appearance on March 16.
“Apparently neither counsel did as the Court directed. Today the Court learns that the defendant in this case has been held in jail for more than a year without being brought before the Court. This is an outrage.”
The Marshall Islands Constitution requires that a person arrested must be charged in court within 24 hours or released from custody.
Lanej was charged in 2007 with aggravated assault, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery for allegedly stabbing Robert Sutch on Ebon on January 28, 2007. He was arrested on Ebon on February 11, 2008 and flown to Majuro about a week later, and has been in jail since February 20 last year. His first court hearing was March 16, 2009.
Ingram said he is reviewing further steps to take in the matter. “If the Ministry of Justice does not take action immediately to correct this situation, the Court will do as much as it can consistent with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic,” Ingram said. He then ordered Lanej be released on his own recognizance pending the disposition of the case. Ingram set the preliminary hearing for Wednesday this week, saying if he finds good cause to continue to trial, Lanej may submit his plea at the preliminary hearing.
This Week's
Inside Stories
Lomor back in action
RMI Sea Patrol’s patrol boat Lomor is back in action, following a gearbox replacement. Sea Patrol Chief Major Thomas Heine said Lomor completed sea trials Wednesday, confirming that it “is back to operational status.”
Kramer to Chuuk
Pacific International Inc. has been given the green light by the Federated States of Micronesia to launch a $27.5 million sewer and road-paving project in Weno, Chuuk. PII CEO Jerry Kramer left to Chuuk Thursday for the groundbreaking ceremony.
Leaders call for land appraisal
Kwajalein leadership is calling on the national government to organize a land appraisal for Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the RMI. Resolution 29 was introduced last week by Kwajalein Senators Mike Kabua (pictured) and Jeban Riklon and Enewetak representative Minister Jack Ading and Utrik representative Minister Amenta Matthew. “There is little, if any, reliable data available to determine the fair rental value of the lands in Kwajalein atoll that are subject to the land use agreement (LUA), as well as other lands in the Marshall Islands, including the four nuclear atolls,” the resolution says.
MEC lures Navy to RMI
The visit this summer by the US Navy vessel Dubuque is giving the Marshalls Energy Company the opportunity to promote Majuro as a destination for regular US Navy refueling visits. This, coupled with the recent visit by a representative of Glenn Defense Marine Asia to inspect port and related facilities in Majuro, is producing optimism at MEC about increasing fuel sales to navy ships. “We work through Glenn Marine of Singapore, which handles 23 different navies including the US,” MEC’s Phil Welch told the Journal. “Their manager was here recently and was impressed with some of the equipment we have that is advantageous for a navy visit.”
PII ready to sink Oleanda in ocean
Pacific International Inc. intends to float the former tour ship Oleanda off the reef at Rairok this Thursday and use one of its tugs to tow it out to open sea and sink the vessel. “Some compartments of the boat have been breached,” PII’s Kenneth Kramer said on Tuesday. “But we have attached floatation devices — four of those big black fenders — to the boat and they should keep it up.” EPA officials told the Journal that PII workers “have removed all the fuel safely off the boat.”
Brenda replaces Marie at MOH
Big personnel changes are in motion at the Ministry of Health. Dr. Masao Korean, one of the longest serving doctors with the Ministry, is stepping down from his position as chief of medical staff at Majuro Hospital. According to the Public Service Commission, he will remain on the staff at Majuro Hospital as a “medical consultant.” Shifting from her current Assistant Secretary/Hospital Administrator post, Dr. Marie Lanwi-Paul is the new Majuro Hospital chief of medical staff, taking Dr. Korean’s former post. Moving from the Ministry of Education to take up the Assistant Secretary/Hospital Administrator position is Brenda Alik-Maddison, a long-time education employee who is currently an assistant secretary for Education. According to PSC, at the request of the Ministry, the hospital administrator position was not publicly opened for applicants, and was filled based on recommendations from the Ministry.
The US Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test crew led by Army Sgt. Kalani Kaneko (right) came to Majuro last week offering the test to local residents, among them Malou Romano, the only female to take the ASVAB test at Marshall Islands High School last Friday. Kaneko flew to Kwajalein during the weekend and will head back to Majuro to give out test results.
Photo: Douglas Henry

Journal 3/28/1970

Journal 3/25/1974
P1 The islands of Bikini Atoll have been officially returned to the Bikini people. High Commissioner Edward Johnston Tuesday counter-signed the documents accepting the islands from the US government. The return came in the midst of a $3 million resettlement program at Bikini.
P1 Robert Reimers Enterprises held grand opening ceremonies Saturday night, March 14
P1 A Trust Territory delegation is scheduled to leave the TT next week to attend the 30th session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East at Colombo, Sri Laka. Senator Amata Kabua will head the delegation as the official TT Representative. Also included in the delegation are Senate President Tosiwo Nakayama, House Speaker Bethwel Henry, Congress Legislative Counsel Kaleb Udui, and Special
to mark the opening of their new $200,000 supermarket. The four-hour affair culminated many long months of planning by Robert Reimers, owner, and Powell Mikkelsen, store manager. Reimers, 61, operated a boat repair shop at Kwajalein from 1947-1951, then another here in Majuro. He opened the small but profitable store next to boat pool in 1958. Mikkelsen, 55, joined Reimers in 1966. At that time the store was grossing about $100,00 a year. Last year, the enterprise grossed $1.5 million. “To my knowledge, the opening of this store makes RRE the biggest marketing service in the Trust Territory,” said DistAd Bob Law at the opening. He noted this would not have been possible without the joint efforts of Reimers, Mikkelsen, with the assistance of Ron Levy, Peace Corps business advisor.
P2 A 13-man US Army Civic Action Team, part of the 539th Engineer Detachment of Okinawa, arrived in Majuro March 14, replacing Navy Seabee Team 0316.The group’s first job will be to finish construction of a gymnasium at the high school and repair work on Laura road.
P5 The cutting of the 1971 Education Budget by $200,000 to help finance the continuation of the Civic Action Teams in the Trust Territory for the next fiscal year was nothing short of a blunder. Saipan seems to have forgotten last year the Congress of Micronesia declared Truk and the Marshalls “Educational Disaster Areas.” Why were less important programs like the Land Cadastre (registration) Program, which was appropriated $1 million for this year alone, left untouched?
Consultant to the HiCom Dwight Heine.
P1 In anticipation of the April Fool’s Day lifting of the US ban on foreign investment in the Trust Territory, employees of the TT government’s district land offices are bunching together in Saipan presently to figure out what changes will be effected in the various land offices of the TT to compensate for the new policy of the US. In addition to problems expected to be confronted in view of the expected hordes of foreign investors in Micronesia, the land management employees will also address themselves to envisioned problems arising from the return of public land from the TT government to the districts.
P10 Several complicated operations have been performed by medical personnel at Ponape District Hospital this month, including chest and lung surgery believes never before performed in Micronesia, according to information from news reports for WSZD Radio in Kolonia. According to report from doctors at the hospital: “A young boy had been shot and required resection of a large part of his liver. This was done during emergency surgery, and the patient is doing well. In another case, a Kusaie patient had received an artificial pacemaker two years ago in Honolulu. This pacemaker started to fail. It was replaced by a new unit, flown in from Honolulu. The patient is doing well.

Journal 3/27/1992
P1 The number of babies born each year at Majuro Hospital have been steadily declining since 1987, leading the nursing staff to believe that Majuro’s population explosion may be slowly receding. The first two months of 1992 produced just 100 babies, the lowest total in years — and a 27 percent drop over the same two months in 1991. In 1987, 895 babies were born at the hospital. The number dropped to 893 in 1988, then to 833 in 1989, and to 805 in 1990. For 1991, the total dropped to 790. Chief nurse Cathlina Antolok said the trend was good news.
P4 Around Town Long Island resident Paul Kingsbury can confirm that advertising in the Journal pays off. His phone was ringing off the hook soon after the paper was out last week in response to a classified ad for a waterbed. Only problem was it wasn’t his ad or his waterbed. An over anxious typesetter got the number wrong, and that led to Paul meeting may new acquaintances over the phone. We’re wondering if the reason he had so may calls is the interested buyers wanted to purchase the water bed with the water in it. (Ed note: RMI was in the throes of a severe drought.)