61 Rohingya escapees still at large, says Saifuddin

 

The authorities have rearrested 461 of the detainees who escaped, of whom 331 were adults and 130 children. (AP pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Sixty-one Rohingya detainees remain at large after escaping from an immigration depot in Kedah, last April, and efforts to track them down are continuing, says home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The detainees were among 528 Rohingya who escaped from an immigration detention centre in Bandar Baharu.

Saifuddin said the authorities had rearrested 461 of the detainees, of whom 331 were adults and 130 children. Six detainees had died in a road accident while fleeing.

“All detainees who had been rearrested have been transferred to other immigration depots,” he said in a parliamentary reply to Syerleena Abdul Rashid (PH-Bukit Bendera), who asked for an update on the case.

“The police investigation has been completed and all the detainees involved will be charged in court in the near future.”

Immigration department director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud had said at the time that the detainees had smashed the door and the grill at the depot before fleeing at about 4.30am on April 20. - FMT