Relatives of shot escapee apologise

RELATIVES of one of the escapees from the Kerevat jail in East New Britain, who was shot by police at the St Peter Channel College, Ulapia near Kokopo last month, apologised to police and people of the province for what their son did.
Neville Maniwokim, 29, from Nguvalian village in the Raluana local level government area of Kokopo and Woginara One in the Dagua area of East Sepik, was shot by police on Sept 19 while he was on the run.
On behalf of his immediate family and relatives, his uncle and a United Church pastor Rev William Bale, apologised to the police and people of ENB for his criminal activities in the province.
With Rev Bale, other relatives, including Maniwokim’s mother, made a public apology in the presence of ENB police commander Snr Insp Joseph Tabali at the Ralum police headquarters yesterday.
Maniwokim’s body is still at the Nonga Hospital morgue waiting for doctors to conduct a post-mortem.
“We, the family of the late Maniwokim, don’t have any grudges against police for what they did to him because he deserved this,” Rev Bale said.
“Maniwokim has committed some serious offences and has caused many destruction to the lives of many innocent people in the province, therefore we cannot question the police on this as they are doing their job to protect the people as well as maintaining law and order.
Tabali, on behalf of the police, accepted the apologies.
According Tabali, Maniwokin was a wanted criminal and had been escaping from Kerevat since he had been in custody.
He said Maniwokim was charged with a string of serious offences.
Tabali thanked Maniwokim’s family and said it was the first time relatives of a wanted criminal shot by police, had made an open public apology to police.
“I think it is the first in ENB and in the county too,” he said.