A convicted child rapist remains on the run after escaping custody while being transported to hospital, with state and federal police revealing he was due to be deported before he absconded.
Michael Angok, 30, was taken from Villawood Immigration Detention Centre to Bankstown Hospital on Wednesday when, according to NSW Police, he “escaped” and ran off shortly after 9.30am.
A dense volume of NSW Police assets were deployed, including the Dog Squad, Raptor and Polair units, in an attempt to form a cordon around Angok and track him down before he was able to get too far.
Despite a number of “personal items” being located on Gallipoli Rd, Angok was able to evade police.
The ABC reports Angok was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl at a Doonside park in February 2014 and had been released from custody in 2017, after serving a minimum non-parole period of two years.
Detective Superintendent Brett Van Akker told reporters Angok was receiving medical treatment at hospital at the time he escaped.
He was due to be deported from Australia, Superintendent Akker said.
“We had to exhaust other opportunities yesterday to get that person into custody,” he said, per the ABC’s reporting.
“And we also don’t want to alert the community to any real concern if we are able to bring that person into custody straight away.”
Angok is described by Police as being “of African appearance, and about 175 to 180cm tall, of thin build with short black hair”.
“He was last seen wearing a black hooded jumper, grey tracksuit pants and white ‘croc’ sandals. Michael previously resided in the Blacktown area and may use the public transport network,” NSW Police said.
“As the search continues, anyone who sees Michael is urged not to approach him but to contact triple-0 (000) immediately.”
More to come.
