Special Prosecutor (SP) Steven Killelea has notified Chief Justice Arthur Ngiraklsong and other lawyers in Palau that he would be out of the country for a week from June 10 to 17, 2017. In his absence, assistant SP Timothy P Zintak will be available to address any issues that concern the office of the special Prosecutor, according to a May 23, 2017 letter.

All lawyers in Palau are required to notify the court and other lawyers when they are absent from the country.

SP Killelea has filed some high profile cases lately including the filing in May of 6-count criminal complaint against the Director of the Bureau of Marine Resources, Leon Remengesau, younger brother of President Remengesau, who pleaded not guilty. Remengesau has been suspended and is awaiting trial. The case stemmed from assaulting an employee of the bureau in an incidence involving employees who were found drinking beer during working hours.

SP Killelea has also filed a suit against the governor of Ngarchelong, Browny Salvador, relating to alleged improper raising of salary that was approved by the Legislature. The matter is still pending. The former governor of Peleliu was also charged by the SP and found guilty of corruption and had to pay a fine of $10,000.

However, there are serious cases of wrong doing by high government officials still pending from one to over four years that were referred to the SP office by the Public Auditor including the bidding of vehicles of the SSA by the former SS Administrator, the improper deposit of US funding at the Bank of Guam by the former director of Public Safety, and many deficient state audit reports of Kayangel, Angaur, Ngaremlengui, Koror and other states.