Shared cell helped flight

Police guarding an accused kidnapper should never have put him in the same cell as a man freed on bail - an error that allowed him to escape from custody.

Ollies Siaea escaped from the Manukau District Court a fortnight ago after being charged with the kidnapping of a 24-year-old Cambodian man for ransom.

He was refused bail by Judge Charles Blackie but walked unchallenged from custody a few hours later by pretending to be another prisoner, who had been granted bail.

The 31-year-old Siaea, who police say looked like his cellmate, signed the bail bond and left the court.

Siaea has since been recaptured and two other people have been charged with aiding his escape: the person waiting outside the court with a change of clothes, and the cellmate whose identity Siaea assumed.

The escape was now the subject of an internal inquiry in which police processes and staff actions would be reviewed to prevent this happening again, Superintendent Mike Bush said.

But police should not have put Siaea - a defendant remanded in custody - in the same cell with another man to be released on bail.

Counties Manukau police declined to comment further as the internal inquiry was not complete yet.

However, identity swapping is less likely when all bailed detainees are kept separate from those in custody.

Police are still investigating the alleged abduction of the Cambodian man from his Papatoetoe home on a Wednesday night two weeks ago.