Five people were transferred by helicopter from Koumac to Nouméa this Sunday. That is to say a week after the fire which damaged the town hall, in the commune of the Grand Nord. The three adults must be tried in immediate appearance this Monday for destruction of property by dangerous means. The two other defendants, minors, are placed under judicial supervision and awaiting trial in children’s court.
The information came while the town hall of Koumac was in the middle of counting for the first round of the early legislative elections: this Sunday, June 30, five people were brought before the Nouméa public prosecutor’s office. Placed in police custody, they were transported from the Far North by helicopter, a week after the fire which damaged the same town hall in Koumac.
According to the account given by the public prosecutor, it was on Sunday, June 23 at around 9:30 p.m. that the police were alerted to a fire of deliberate origin. On site, it was noted “that several individuals broke the windows located at the rear of the building, overlooking various offices, including that of the mayor”Wilfrid Weiss.
Still according to the press release released by Yves Dupas this evening, “They then sprayed a flammable product into each room so as to set the entire building on fire.”. And “the rapid intervention of several people discovering the disaster made it possible to contain the fire before the arrival of the firefighters, the mayor’s office was particularly damaged.” And this, in a context of repeated fires across Caledonia.
Friday June 28, in the morning, the investigation carried out by the Koumac gendarmerie, assisted by the Koné research brigade, led to a series of arrests. According to the prosecutor, three adult residents of the town are being prosecuted for destruction of property by means dangerous to people. Their correctional hearing in immediate appearance is scheduled for Monday 1is July. At this time, wrote Yves Dupas on Sunday evening, they are presented before the judge of freedoms and detention, at the request of the prosecution for the purposes of placement in pre-trial detention at Camp-Est.
The two other defendants are minors, who were placed under judicial supervision until their appearance before the children’s court, scheduled for the coming weeks. A placement measure was notably ordered in Greater Nouméa. Yves Dupas denies in passing “false information circulating since this morning on social networks according to which these five people in question would be transferred to a penitentiary establishment” from France.
