Papua New Guinea's acting Minister for Internal Security, Sam Abal, has appealed to the 12 prisoners on the run from the Bomana Maximum Security Unit outside Port Moresby to turn themselves in to the police.
The dozen prisoners broke out of Bomana prison last Tuesday, including bank robber William Kapris who is reputed to be PNG's most notorious criminal.
Almost a week later, police are still hunting for the prisoners amid speculation they have slipped into Morobe province.
The newspaper, The National, reports Mr Abal as saying the escapees can make it easier for the police as well as themselves by handing themselves in.
The minister has appealed to relatives of the escapees to encourage them to surrender and called on anyone with information regarding the escapees to contact police.
Meanwhile, police have offered a nearly 4,000 US dollars reward for the recapture of Kapris.
Bank South Pacific is offering a cash incentive for any information that may prevent a bank robbery, fraud or kidnapping of senior bank executives.
