Investigations are currently underway at Buimo correctional institution. 17 detainees escaped around 10am on Sunday (January 19) which resulted in the death of a CS officer and a convicted detainee.
According to CS Commissioner Stephen Pokanis, the prison has been locked down and police are doing investigation.
An internal investigation team of CS is also on the ground investigating the matter as well. Additional 10 CS personnel are currently at Buimo to support officers at the institution.
This is not the first time detainees have escaped from the Buimo Correctional Institution.
Similar incidents have occurred in the past. On December 2017, 16 prisoners held a prison warden hostage before fleeing, only 4 were captured, “The story of Buimo is not new, prisoners escape for freedom”, Pokanis said.
CS commissioner Stephen Pokanis says, the recent escape of prisoners is because of the lack of number of CS officers.
At the Buimo prison a total of 1002 inmates are kept and managed by just 85 officers. Usually, 10 officers work on Sundays with 4 administrating and supervising families and detainees during visiting hours. “They manage over a thousand detainees with less adequate facilities”, he added.
On the day of the incident, 45 detainees were released to visit their families, to which 17 fled, sadly leaving 2 people dead, a CS officer and a detainee.
According to Commissioner Pokanis, budget for Buimo correctional institution for 2019 is yet to be released by Finance Department.
At the moment, Buimo only has 2 vehicles and it needs to have more men’s dormitories to cater for the increasing detainees.
Commissioner Pokanis said the government must look into this matter seriously to solve this issue.
The Commissioner has met with the family of the deceased officer. Meanwhile, CS and police are working together with doctors to administer a post mortem to determine the actual cause of death.
By Suli Suli – Cadet Reporter – EMTV News – Port Moresby
