Net widens

 By SHIRLYN BELDEN and ELIZABETH MIAE

THE dragnet for William Kapris and Raphael Walimini was yesterday expanded to include the Hiritano and Magi highways in Central and Gulf as a senior police officer urged the two escapees to surrender immediately or face the full brunt of the law.

NCD metropolitan commander Supt Andy Bawa told The National late last night that the manhunt involved about 1,000 security personnel.

All necessary resources including police dogs were being used to hunt down the two convicts.

Kapris, serving 30 years for armed robbery, and convicted killers Raphael and Michael Warangu, armed themselves with pistols and took hostage a male nurse from the prison cli­nic before escaping from Bomana jail outside Port Moresby on Tuesday afternoon.

They were tracked to the nearby Laloki area where a gun battle took place. 

Warangu was believed to have been seriously wounded and his body was found floating in the Laloki River on Wednesday morning.

Kapris is also believed to have been injured in the shootout.

Bawa appealed to the public for information on the pair.

“They are dangerous to the community. We want your assistance and support in this operation,” he said. 

He asked the escapees to give themselves up immediately.

“It is better to surrender now rather than face the full brunt of the law if you are captured. 

“The operation (police hunt) continues and will expand and you are given the choice to surrender now.”    

Correctional Service (CS) Commissioner Martin Balthazar yesterday also appealed to the public to assist in the recapture of the prisoners.

He said the shortage of manpower and run down facilities in the prisons were some of the issues that affected their operations and may have contributed to the breakouts lately. 

“There is a drastic shortage of manpower and we are now in the process of recruiting,” Balthazar said.

Correctional Service Minister Jim Simatab told Parliament on Wednesday that prison officers were involved in the prisoners’ escape.