Body Found in Home of Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister

Police arrested the adopted son of Papua New Guinea's acting prime minister after a woman's body was found at their family home, an official said today. Acting PM Sam Abal said he had personally reported the "alleged murder" on Monday after the woman's body was found at the family home in the national capital Port Moresby. Abal's son Teo Abal was arrested at a Port Moresby hotel last night and was being interviewed by police. No charges have been filed.

A security guard alleged that he opened a gate to Teo Abal and the woman shortly before dawn Monday and that the pair walked hand in hand into a garden. Then 20 minutes later, he heard a woman’s scream, and the son emerged telling the guard he’d killed the woman. Sam Abal is standing in for Prime Minister Michael Somare, who stepped down in December because of ill health and to clear his name of allegations that he failed to disclose his full income. (More Papua New Guinea stories.)