Prison escapee Aniseko Vaieli was captured in Tapatapao last Friday, thanks to quick action by Catholic Church catechist Kilino Ioane.

The catechist was part of a group of workers who were working on a construction site of a new church, when the convicted criminal appeared.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer, Mr. Ioane said they were working when Vaieli walked up. 

“We were working on the construction of our church with several men from the church, when Aniseko came out of no where, he had a bag pack but it was not clear what the contents were,” he said.

The catechist, who is from Vaiusu, said he instructed the men to engage in conversation with the prison escapee – while the police were immediately contacted. 

“It wasn’t long after the call to the police they arrived and a large amount of cash was recovered,” he said. 

The Samoa Police Service released a statement last Friday night, confirming the capture of Aniseko and the recovering of $10,000 in cash. 

The Police haven’t been able to directly connect Aniseko and his partner in crime Pati Chong Nee to an assault and a robbery at the One-On-One supermarket – in the early hours of last Thursday – where $60,000 cash was also stolen. 

However, the Police said their preliminary investigation revealed two suspected Samoan boys invaded and robbed the shop. 

“With limited information the initial indication did not link the incident to the two escaped prisoners. However, with a tip from the public, police were able to investigate further, culminating in the capture of one of the escaped prisoners, Aniseko Vailei. 

“A total of SAT$10,000 has been recovered and police are now pursuing leads in locating the whereabouts of the other prisoner, Pati Chong Nee,” the Police said in their statement.

The Police also appealed to business owners to bank their earnings on a daily basis after “a large amount of cash was stolen from this business”.