Papua New Guinea's influential petroleum minister has been charged with assault following a "domestic dispute" near Sydney's famed Bondi Beach, Australian police said Sunday.
Jimmy Maladina, a crucial player in ongoing international negotiations over a lucrative natural gas project, was arrested on Saturday morning.
Police said they found a "31-year-old woman with facial injuries" after they were called to an address near Bondi, allegedly sustained in an "altercation" with Maladina.
Maladina is listed to appear in a Sydney court on Thursday, court documents show, and has been charged with "assault occasioning actual bodily harm".
The 58-year-old said in a statement he was "committed to handling this situation with integrity and transparency".
Papua New Guinea's vast and untapped deposits of natural gas have attracted considerable interest from foreign prospectors.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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