Minister of Home Affairs Robeson Benn has issued an appeal to prison escapees to surrender to avoid further grief.
“I wish to call on all persons who have escaped from lawful custody and who are now being sought after by the Guyana Police Force and other law enforcement agencies, to turn themselves in and by so doing, avoid any further grief with respect to escaping from the prisons,” Benn said in a statement on Thursday.
The Home Affairs Minister is also asking relatives of the escapees not to support them.
“Further, I call on the relatives, friends and the general public, to report the existence of any escaped prisoner who you may become aware of to the nearest police station,” Benn added.
His appeal came days after two of four prisoners who escaped from Mazaru-ni Prison in February and a woman suspected of possibly harbouring them were killed by police.
On Monday night, Imran Ramsaywack, Ryan Jones and Savita Rajkumar were shot and killed in a shack in the backlands of Better Hope South, East Coast Demerara (ECD), where police had gone based on a tip-off that the escapees were hiding in the area.
According to the police, ranks went to the area after receiving intelligence that the prison escapees were hiding there.
They observed three wooden shacks in an abandoned field in a bushy and swampy area.
The police added that after clearing the first shack, ranks were approaching the second one when a voice was heard in the third shack.
The police said they immediately identified themselves after which a man emerged and discharged a round in their direction before escaping.
Police returned fire, killing the three persons in the shack. A sawn-off double barrel shotgun was found at the scene.
Ramsaywack and Jones were among four prisoners who escaped from the Mazaruni Prison on February 16th. The other two: Kenrick Lyte and Samuel Gouveia remain on the lam. It is believed that one of the two may have been the person who opened fire on the ranks on Monday.
In his statement, Benn assured that officials are working to improve the living conditions and the rehabilitation efforts of the country’s prison system.
He reminded that once recaptured, prisoners who escaped from custody will face an additional charge which attracts a penalty of three years imprisonment. “Moreover, those who aid and abet escape prisoners can face the prospect of three to seven years in jail or life imprisonment,” he further added.
