|
By ELIZABETH VUVU
INTERRUPTIONS to water supply to the Kerevat jail outside Kokopo, East
New Britain province, has forced warders and staff to move inmates out
to the nearby river to wash.
Chief Insp Margaret Garap said due to the dry season in the province,
the Kerevat River had dried up and changed its course, so the area where
the pumps are situated to pump water to the main reservoirs at the jail,
was filled with gravel and sand.
She said it was hard to pump water from the creek to the water tanks
near the jail as the river was now too shallow.
Insp Garap, who is also in charge of the jail administration, told The
National that the institution had been allowing prisoners to go to the
near river for three weeks and so far all had understood the situation
well and had not made any attempts to escape or cause problems.
“Our staff and warders escort the inmates, a total number between 300
and 400, out in groups to the nearby river where they had their bath and
then return,” she said.
She said the move of to take inmates outside the Kerevat jail boundaries
by the institution and its administration posed a lot of threats to the
nearby communities at Kerevat and Gazelle.
“People might have a fear for criminals, especially those detained for
rape and murder might escape while bathing in the river,” she said.
Insp Garap suggested that to help alleviate this current problem, bore
water pumps needed to be established to cater for the increasing
population at the institution.
 
|
