Although a joint operation is in effect to recapture convicted rapist Akeem Wong, who escaped from the Mazaruni Prison Compound in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) on Thursday morning, the man remains at large.
A team comprising Joint Services members are using water, air, and land patrols in a bid to find the escapee.
Wong and another inmate, Gilbert Gill were labouring in the bush in the custody of a prison officer.
Escapee: Akeem Wong
While there, Wong asked permission to go defecate, and the officer permitted him to go into a nearby clump of bushes. About five minutes later, the officer went to check on Wong, but discovered that he had escaped. An alarm was raised.
The public has been urged to exercise caution and vigilance and report any sightings or information regarding Wong’s whereabouts to the authorities.
Wong was 27 years old when he was convicted in 2020 for raping a 14-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty to the charge, which stated that on June 30, 2017, in the county of Demerara, he engaged in sexual penetration of the child.
A probation report had stated that Wong, a resident of Half Mile, Wismar in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), had been associated with persons of unsavoury character, and had been involved in many delinquent activities.
According to the probation officer, Police records showed that Wong was wanted for a murder which occurred in Mabaruma, Region One (Barima-Waini), and he was arrested only in 2018, after a wanted bulletin had been issued.
The probation officer had informed the court that Wong had told her he had also previously been charged for break and enter and robbery, but he claimed those charges had been dismissed. (G9)
