Two prisoners among 10 repatriated

A PAPUA New Guinean prisoner with special needs has been repatriated from an Indonesian jail after he served six years for smuggling drug, Jayapura-based consular-general Geoffrey Wiri says.
Brian Saben, 30, from Arop village, Aitape district, West Sepik, was among 10 PNG citizens to be repatriated to West Sepik under the Covid-19 special arrangement last week.
Among this third batch of people repatriated were six Wuvulu islanders who had drifted into Jayapura on July 19 after their outboard engine developed problems when travelling from their island in Manus to East Sepik.
The six Wuvulu islanders were trying to access dental services.
Wiri said Saban had his leg amputated when he was about seven years old during the 1998 tsunami that devastated Sissano Lagoon.
Saban, is believed to be from Arop village, the village was affected badly during the tsunami.
“However, he was involved in drug-smuggling in 2014 between West Sepik and Papua province of Indonesia.
“He was sentenced to serve six years in jail at the Doyo Narcotic Prison in Jayapura,” Wiri said.
“He was then transferred to Bolangi Narcotic Prison in Makassar city, Sulawesi province in March last year to serve out his term and he completed his jail term last month.”
Wiri said another PNG prisoner, Clyde Doyango, also from Aitape, was released from Abepura jail in Jayapura.
He said Doyango was released after serving 10 months for illegal entry.
“He was with Saben, six Wuvulu Islanders and two other people from Vanimo district, West Sepik, to be repatriated to PNG.
“The two people from Vanimo were stranded in Jayapura when the border closed in January.”
Wiri said the PNG citizens were undergoing further checks at the quarantine centre at Transmitter in Vanimo.