Manhunt for toilet escapee

Corrections officers waited patiently outside a door to a bathroom at Hutt Hospital while a dangerous prisoner used the toilet.

They’d secured Uditha Ishanka Punchihewa, who was awaiting trial on an array of charges, including kidnapping, to a rail and didn’t expect any problems.

However, somehow Punchihewa freed himself from his restraints and snuck out a side door.

He fled the hospital wearing a gown and grabbed a new outfit from a clothesline in the backyard of a nearby property.

More than six weeks after the October 12 escape, the 31-year-old from Sri Lanka is still on the run.

And police believe he may try to flee the country.

Punchihewa, an associate of the Black Power and Full Blooded Islanders gangs, was arrested on October 4 following an incident in Wellington.

He pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, threatening to kill, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, theft over $1000, making a false statement that an offence had been committed and unlawful possession of a firearm.

While on remand at Rimutaka Prison, Punchihewa was allegedly assaulted by another prisoner.

He was receiving treatment for injuries sustained in that incident when he escaped from Hutt Hospital.

A warrant for his arrest was issued when he failed to appear in court last week.

Detective Senior Sergeant Kevan Verry, the officer in charge of the manhunt, said information about Punchihewa’s whereabouts had been difficult to come by.

There was an initial flurry of tips in the week after his escape, but they’d dried up.

Verry said the lack of information suggested Punchihewa, who had links to Auckland and Hawke’s Bay, was no longer in Wellington.

Police believed he might try to flee the country, but there was no evidence that

Dangerous prisoner Uditha Ishanka Punchihewa escaped from Hutt Hospital on October 12 and not been recaptured.

had happened. Border alerts were in place.

Investigators looking for Punchihewa had focused their attention on his family and associates, some of whom were believed to be helping him avoid detection.

A man who allegedly helped him avoid capture had been charged with being an accessory after the fact, Verry said.

Before his arrest, Punchihewa, a father of two, lived with his partner in the Wellington suburb of Wilton.

Companies Office records show he was the sole director and shareholder of a now defunct mobile cleaning business.

Police initially believed Punchihewa might have been driving a silver/grey 1999 Honda Odyssey following his escape. That vehicle had been located. Verry urged anyone with information about Punchihewa’s whereabouts to contact police. He was considered dangerous and should not be approached.

In a statement, Corrections deputy national commissioner Andy Milne said a ‘‘full operational review’’ was examining the circumstances of Punchihewa’s escape.

Milne confirmed the prisoner had been secured to a railing in the hospital bathroom, but said the ongoing review prevented him from answering further questions.

He said it was likely Punchihewa would be charged with escaping custody, an offence that carried a maximum sentence of five years, if and when he was caught.