Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison general manager George Massingham said public safety was top priority, and any escape was unacceptable.
“A remand prisoner from Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison absconded from Corrections staff while on a visit to a medical centre.
“An immediate review into how this incident occurred will be carried out.”
Police had warned that Hanara, who had his murder conviction quashed, should not be approached.
Hanara was 14 when he knifed homeless man Kelly Donner to death. He was 19 when he was freed.
He was one of a group of youths who attacked Donner who was sleeping rough in Flaxmere, Hastings, on March 4, 2018.
Hanara was holding a knife and stabbed the 40-year-old man four times – in the upper chest, left shoulder and twice in the neck. One cut severed his carotid artery and another hit his jugular vein.
Donner fell to the ground and the rest of the youths stomped and kicked him before running off. Donner died at the scene.
Hanara used drugs regularly from the age of 9 and has been diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and an intellectual disability.
Massingham said any time a prisoner was escorted outside prison, the focus was on safety, security and minimising risk to the public, staff and prisoners.
“Each year we carry out tens of thousands of prisoner escorts between prisons, courts, specialist medical facilities and rehabilitation providers.”
