woman"

The "other woman" has her say

£ £ W ’M a good person,” says the Niue woman who does I not deny she had public sex with a married Cook -M-Islands Cabinet minister.

Dawn Vilila has said the first mistake she made was placing her trust in Finance minister Papamama Pokino - the man she had a public sex romp with. ‘‘A man who was supposed to be one of the leaders of your country and an old colleague of my father’s.”

The woman, Dawn Vilila faxed Cook Islands Press a letter expressing her feelings on the scandal.

Describing herself as an "honest and caring person” Vilila in a separate note to this writer, says her life was nearly ruined by the Cook Islands Press report on what had happened between her and Minister Pokino.

"But only because I had let it. From here on I am not going to let it happen,” she says.

"What your country does with your minister is your business, but please respect my privacy as I have been through a lot lately,” says Vilila in her note.

Vilila contradicts her wish for privacy by saying she has dis tributed her letter to "other people and the media.”

She wrote; "The media always claim to be fac tual and neutral. In this case I disagree as every one has had input except me. I am sick and tired of all the allegations evolving around the inci dence. I am writing to tell you that, that young woman does have a say.”

Dawn Vilila is married with children and works for the Niue department of Community Affairs.

What has become evident is that Pokino and Vilila's October encounter in Rarotonga was not the first. They were also photographed having dinner together in Tahiti in July this year. A pho tograph of the pair has been shown to PIM, but its owner refused to have it published. In it, Pokino has his arm around a smiling Dawn Vilila - a source who was at the dinner says both had been drinking heavily and left together that night.

News has filtered to Rarotonga of Pokino’s behaviour at the regional Youth conference in Tahiti. Allegations are that the minister drank excessively throughout the official visit demand ing to be taken to all Papeete bars one Sunday.

He’s also alleged to have sexually harassed a female liaison officer who laid an official com plaint with conference organisers. She was replaced by a male liaison officer. ■

Cook Islands finance minister Papamama Pokini