Hundreds of Rohingya flee Malaysia detention, 6 die on highway
- More than 520 migrants escaped from the Sungai Bakap Temporary Detention Centre following a riot at around 4.30am
- Eyewitnesses said they tried to warn the six who died – including two children – not to cross Malaysia’s North-South Expressway, but they did not understand
As of noon, authorities said they had apprehended 137 of the 528 migrants who escaped the Sungai Bakap Temporary Detention Centre following a riot there at around 4.30am. Immigration authorities, the police, paramilitary volunteers and members of the public all joined the search.
The six escapees who died – two men, two women, a boy and a girl – were killed at around 6.50am as they attempted to cross Malaysia’s 772km-long North-South Expressway, said Suhaily Mohd Zain, police chief of neighbouring Penang state.
“The operation is still under way to detect the remaining detainees still at large,” said Kedah state police chief Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad in a separate statement.
There were 23 guards on duty at the detention centre when the riot erupted. The escapees managed to break through a door and several fences at the centre before fleeing.
Police said both the riot and subsequent breakout were being investigated for rioting and resisting lawful arrest under Section 147 and 224 of Malaysia’s Penal Code, respectively. Those involved in the breakout could be imprisoned for two years if convicted.
