PETALING JAYA: A Rohingya detainee who fled the Sungai Bakap temporary immigration depot this morning claimed that he was beaten up when he refused to flee the centre.
He said he did not want to flee when other detainees started the riot, and he was punched for not following the rioters, according to a report in Utusan Malaysia.
The man, who said he was a UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card holder, claimed that the riot was started by detainees who did not have the refugee identification card.
“There were too many of those without UNHCR cards, and they forced those of us who had the cards to flee with them in a group. Otherwise, we would be beaten up,” he was quoted as saying.
The man was among three detainees who were recaptured and taken to the Bandar Baharu district police station before being sent to the immigration depot for the next course of action.
A total of 528 Rohingya inmates fled the immigration depot today morning, but 385 were recaptured and six were killed in an accident when they tried to cross the highway near Jawi, Penang.
Home minister Hamzah Zainudin said all 528 detainees who escaped were Rohingya nationals who were transferred from the Wawasan Langkawi camp after they were arrested for encroaching Malaysian waters in 2020.
Meanwhile, immigration department director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said detention depots in Bidor, Perak, and Beranang, Selangor, had been alerted to prevent a recurrence of today’s incident.
“All (depot) commandants have contacted nearby police stations and activated warning systems because they do not want the incident to inspire other (detainees),” he said in a Bernama report. - FMT
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