Kapris’ aide heads back to court next week

National, Normal
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By JULIA DAIA BORE

THE committal hearing of a suspect alleged to have aided the escape of alleged rapist and bank robber William Nanua Kapris as well as other detainees at the Bomana prison outside Port Moresby, will be heard next Monday.
The suspect, Neil Diamond Arikawa, has been accused of aiding Kapris and 11 other high-risk prisoners escape from Bomana on Jan 12.
Kapris is also facing charges for the alleged robbery of three Bank South Pacific branches.
The Waigani Committal Court last Thursday adjourned the matter to next week after receiving “submissions on the sufficiency of evidence” seeking to have the charges dropped under section 95(2) and section 100 of the District Court Act.
Magistrate Fred Tomo told the accused that it would be best to have his lawyer available in court next week for the ruling.
Arikawa’s lawyer David Dotaona was in Madang and the submission was made in his absence.
Dotaona had also submitted that there was no direct evidence linking his client to the charge of aiding the prisoners to escape.
“The accused is only mentioned by Wilson Waraninge and Helen Mark Kuipa as being one of the two people who used firearms to detain Sgt Abiang (Kera) at the Morobe Transit Motel on Jan 12, 2010.
“It is important to mention that the accused had not been charged with unlawful deprivation of liberty under section 355 of the Criminal Code.
“There is no evidence of the accused going to Bomana and holding up the warders and assisting the prisoners to escape from the prison compound.
“The perpetrators of the offence in this case from the police brief appear to be Wilson Waraninge and Helen Mark Kuipa,” the submission said.