A man who escaped police custody on Monday, fleeing from a police van outside court, has handed himself in.
Samir Derek Belhajjam, 30, went to the Taupō Police Station just before 9am.
He faces a charge of escaping from custody and charges related to alleged wilful damage and dishonesty offending.
He is due to appear in Taupō District Court on Wednesday morning.
Taupō area commander Inspector Phil Edwards earlier said said Belhajjam was being taken back to prison after a court appearance when he managed to evade his police escort.
Enquiries into how this occurred were ongoing, Edwards said, and police would be conducting a full review.
He said there were no concerns about staffing levels at the time.
2 comments
Reason prevails
Posted on 16-01-2025 10:51 | By morepork
A good move by Samir. I hope he gets credit for it. When you are under that kind of pressure it is easy to make a bad decision and run for it. By realizing his error and turning himself in, he saved Police a lot of time and effort and is facing what he must.
Well Done
Posted on 17-01-2025 20:21 | By Yadick
Well done Samir manning up. You generally cannot run for long in New Zealand. Now is the time to continue moving forward to change your life in a positive direction. Keep it up, it's a big step forward. At some stage in our lives we all have to journey a journey we regret and would rather hide from, but you'll be a better man for taking the journey.
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