Fugitive likely to be disguised

A man accused of kidnapping who escaped court custody by pretending to be another prisoner remains on the run and detectives believe he may have changed his appearance.

Ollies Siaea, 31, pretended he was someone else and signed the other man's bail bond, walking free from the Manukau District Court soon after being remanded in custody on Friday.

An hour earlier, Siaea had appeared in court charged with kidnapping a 24-year-old Cambodian national last Wednesday.

Police have since charged the prisoner Siaea impersonated for aiding him in his escape.

While investigating Siaea's whereabouts, police also charged another associate on an "unrelated matter".

Detective Senior Sergeant Pete Jones said police followed up on some unconfirmed sightings of Siaea during the weekend but their inquiries had not found him by last night.

He asked the public to bear in mind that Siaea might appear different from the photos police have released of him.

"It's highly probable that he will have changed his appearance.
We'd obviously ask that people try to picture him maybe having cut off his hair or [with] a shaved head, or shaved face."

Asked if Siaea posed a danger to the public, Mr Jones said there was no specific threat.

"At this stage our concerns primarily are for the safety of our initial victim - the victim of the kidnapping. But of course [with] somebody who's going to lengths to evade police, we always have to be concerned that there will be a potential danger to the wider community as well."

The kidnap victim is in police protection.

Mr Jones reiterated earlier warnings that anyone found helping Siaea could face charges.

"We're asking people to help us to locate him and obviously if they're going to go the other way and assist him to evade us, they have to be aware of the consequences."

Mr Jones asked anyone with information to call police, adding that any information would be treated with discretion.

"The sooner we get people who are prepared to go out and kidnap other people back in front of the courts, the better."

* Anyone with information on Siaea's whereabouts is asked to contact police on (09) 259 0600.