A total of seventeen prisoners broke out yesterday at the Kerevat Prison in East New Britain Province. This was confirmed by Kerevat Correctional Service Jail Commander, Margaret Garap, who said that out of the seventeen who escaped, twelve are remandees and five convicted criminals.
According to Garap, the prisonbreak took place between 10am to 12pm.
“The prisoners broke out during the time it was raining where they had managed to escape through the fence that was mended due to previous breakouts at the prison. The fence was easy to break open due to it being rusty which made it easy for them to escape.”
The breakout was later confirmed when the officers on duty for the next shift which is between 2pm to 10pm, had realized that the prisoners escaped when the officers did a roll call.
Being that, Garap stated that the officers on duty at the time of the escape will be dealt with accordingly, starting off with their suspensions. She also confirmed that there were four officers on duty at that time of the escape.
“The police in East New Britain have been alerted and will be on the lookout for any suspicious reports or movements in the province.”
Meanwhile the Commissioner for Correctional Services, Stephen Pokanis has been made aware of the situation, and has instructed that a full investigation be done.
“A full report of the incident should be done and completed by tomorrow morning with the list of names of the prisoners and the status of their offences as well as the names of the officers on duty at that time.”
Furthermore, the New Guinea Islands CS Assistant Commissioner, Philip Pranis, has also confirmed the breakout and has received instructions to take proper actions leading to this case.
“I will be flying to the province as per the instructions from the CS Commissioner, and will need to get a good explanation from the commanding officer of Kerevat Prison as to why this case seems to be a reoccurring issue.”
In addition to this, Pranis also informed the commanding officer to provide names of the officers on duty at the time of the incident, who then will be disciplined accordingly and will face suspension.