Anania (Houdini) Ledua did it again! Ledua, 23, of Vatoa Street, in Samabula went on the loose again in July 1979 after his seventh escape from lawful custody.
He and a fellow prisoner, Kinivuawai Tabuasokia, 24, of Nabua, broke out of the security cell block in Suva Gaol on Sunday night, by cutting through one of the bars of their cell window, and jumped to freedom.
And as police mounted a search, they said Ledua had the highest number of escapes known in Fiji within a short time and was regarded as ‘one of the very few daring prisoners’.
The escape came only four weeks after Ledua told The Fiji Times outside Suva Court that he woul never escape again. He said then that he had accepted Jesus Christ as his saviour and wanted to be an honest citizen.
The acting Director of the Criminal Investigation Department, Superintendent Jone Waisele, said a police party had made the usual search for the prisoners. A dog was used without success on the night after they broke out and police had checked at the homes of the two prisoners.
The Controller of Prisons, Mr Wally Smith, said Ledua was in the Suva Gaol, awaiting transfer to Naboro maximum security prison when he broke out.
He said prisoners of Ledua’s calibre needed closer and tighter supervision. The police said it would possibly allocate more officers to maintain a tighter security on prisoners like Ledua despite shortage of staff.
Ledua had two years added to his gaol term by the Suva Court last month for an earlier escae from Suva Goal.
This brought his total term still to serve to 4 ½ years.
He had escaped by cutting the padlock on his cell on March 15, 1979 A police spokesman, Assistant Superintendent, Mohammed Shameem, appealed to members of the public to inform the police if they knew of the prisoners’ whereabouts.
ASP Shameem said it was an offence to harbour an escaped prisoner.
