Minister's sek scandal rocks

Special Report

By Florence Syme-Buchanan

POLICE logs were blank, the gov ernment put up a wall of silence

and politicians were speechless

when the very public sex romp of the min ister of Women’s Affairs made headlines in the Cooks and New Zealand.

Days after the scandal was splashed in local newspapers, Cook Islanders were still to find out whether minister Papamama Pokino would lose his job or get rapped over the knuckles for his embarrassing behaviour. Although police assistance was called for during the incident that occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, October 6, logs at national headquarters were glaring ly devoid of Pokino’s name and involve ment. Police were called to the motel where the minister had a public sex romp to assist the heavily intoxicated Papamama Pokino in getting home and pacify the Niuean woman with whom he had sex.

Inspector Richard Browne says the inci dent at the downtown motel was no more than a "slight hiccup, a little domestic”. The police had responded to a call for assistance by manager Malcolm Laxton-Blinkhom at 3.19 am. Inspector Browne says it’s not unusual for names not to be recorded in the night shift’s occurrence file if the incidents are not of a serious nature and "we’ve only rendered assistance”.

But the blank log has raised questions about how much police cover up for senior politicians - and how long they have been doing it. From eyewitness accounts of what happened, it appears police are trying to play down the incident to keep minister of Women’s Affairs Pokino out of the media

spotlight.

A police source alleges the minister’s sexual encounters with the Niue woman first occurred on the waterfront on the out skirts of the Avarua township, before the

pair drove to the motel in his pick-up.

An eyewitness claims the minister had sex twice at the downtown Motel with the young woman in her mid-20s. The eyewit ness alleges he saw Pokino and the woman on the staircase and again later after strip ping naked in front of the motel’s Jacuzzi situated in the centre of the property.

He says the minister and the woman were in full view of some other guests who came outside after being awoken by cou ple’s noises. A day before news made local headlines, Papamama Pokino left for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference in Wellington. The public sexu al escapades of the Cabinet minister have made him the talk of town bars and could jeopardise his political future.

Cabinet and political colleagues are hor rified by the incident, with one saying the actions of the minister were one of a "stu pid, stupid man.” Pokino’s behaviour

around women has become a subject of discussion.

One senior public servant claims he’s frequently made suggestive remarks to her. She claims to have warned the minister his behaviour was way out of line.

It is not just recent behaviour either. A female reporter on assignment in Mangaia says she was staying at the CAO residence when Papamama Pokino was chief administration officer on the island. She claims he came into her room naked, before she yelled at him to leave. Opposition DAP leader Terepai Maoate says prime minister Sir Geoffrey Henry should have dealt with the matter immediately. Dr Maoate says Pokino ’‘could possi bly lose his ministership” and there should be some sort of disciplinary action taken against the 62-year old married politician.

He says because intercourse took place in a public place it can’t be considered something pri vate in an individual’s life, and may be regarded as an indecent act. “What a shame,” says Dr Maoate.

The Niuean woman is said to be the daughter of a close friend of Papamama Pokino.

She has been identified as a welfare officer in the Niuean government’s ministry of Women, Youth and Sport. Police were called to the motel after she entered the room of other guests, made a lot noise and began trashing a room. A police source says when they arrived the woman, wrapped only in a motel towel, ran away and hid in the neighbouring Karika palace.

“We had to try and get her out of there without waking Karika Ariki (a paramount chief).” The Niue official was in Rarotonga attending a region al women’s conference with three other Niue dele gates. Conference organisers were trying to keep t the motel incident quiet and had asked an eyewitness not to speak to local media. A source says the Niuean government has been A I informed of what happened.

Foreign Affairs secretary Edwin Pittman says this may have been done by the other Niue delegates, "but there's been nothing on a government H to government basis". A spokesman from the small Niuean community here says the whole thing is very embarrassing for them. But not as embarrassing as it will be for Papamama Pokino. ■

Cook Islands finance minister Papamama Pokini... caught up in a scandal