Judge orders re-arrest of escapees

 By Jacklyn Sirias
A JUDGE has ordered police to re-arrest eight escapees charged with armed robbery in 2005. All have bench warrants against them.
Justice Panuel Mogish ordered Detective Senior Constable Segela Kubili last Friday in the Kwikila National Court to arrest the escapees (not named) who were allegedly involved with four others in an armed robbery at the Loloata Island Resort in 2001.
Mogish said only one of the 12 suspects was in custody and scheduled to appear on trial today. The others are at large.
Three had remained at large from the start and eight were arrested but escaped later. According to Kubili, the eight escaped when attending a Waigani Committal Court session.
They were taken from Bomana custody for the session. Kubili told Mogish that the escapees were all from Bereina and were recently seen there.
He said he would make it his responsibility to arrest them. But he said the problem he had were logistics.
Police alleged that in early 2001, the 12 allegedly robbed the Loloata resort using homemade guns and knives. They allegedly held up a dinghy owner who had taken them to the resort.
The 12 allegedly forced the manager’s son, who happened to be at the reception at that time, to get  the keys to the resort’s dinghy which they used to escape.
Police arrested nine of them.
Eight escaped.