Detainees still go missing

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By JAMES GUMUNO
DETAINEES disappearing from the Mt Hagen police cell has become a chronic problem, a police prosecutor told the Mt Hagen District Court yesterday.
Prosecutor Anna Korada said they continued to slip away from the cell without appearing in court to face their charges.
It has been happening for years, she said.
Korada told the court that this practice needed to be stopped and summoned Mt Hagen Station commander Chief Sgt Gabriel Haus and officer in-charge of the cellblock Snr Const Kelepi Haliapa to court to explain why and how an alleged drug offender disappeared from the cell during the weekend.
Folken Lubu Wako, 26, from Aparu village in Henganofi, Eastern Highlands was arrested on Jan 21 at Kagamuga Airport when he allegedly tried to smuggle 2kg of marijuana on a MAF flight to Balimo in Western. National Airport Corporation security at the airport nabbed him and handed him over to police.
Wako was charged and locked up.
He was supposed to appear for his first mention on Jan 27, but he didn’t appear and matter adjourned to the 29th when he failed to show up.
The court summoned Haus and Haliapa to appear yesterday to explain how the accused had escaped from the cell.
Sgt Haus told the court that he had no knowledge because the matter was not reported to him.
He told the court that he didn’t receive any report about Wako’s arrest and no report of him being released was recorded on the daily occurrence book (O/B) at the station.