O'neill says police 'jumped the gun'

Mr O'Neill has publicly defended his decision not to appear before police fraud investigators, saying police 'jumped the gun' by issuing an arrest warrant against him, ABC News reports.

Mr O'neill  told local television station EMTV the warrant should never have been issued and the matter should be determined by the courts.

"They [the police] don't need to get a warrant to ask me to go in for an interview. You go and seek warrants when somebody is in breach of a court order," he said.

"It is not a warrant where we need to just turn up and be interviewed and assess the evidence before you and whether charges can be laid or not. So I think that the police have virtually jumped the gun.

"This matter is before the court. It is within my legal right as a citizen under the constitution to go to court and get the court’s interpretation of what has transpired."

Mr O'Neill denied that he is avoiding an interview, saying "this matter has been in discussion for quite some time, since the matter broke out several months back."

Earlier, before Mr Eluh's suspension, police interviewed the former treasurer Don Polye over the payments to Paraka Lawyers.

He was released until Monday to get legal representation.

 

ABC News