KOTA KINABALU: Police are investigating whether negligence was a factor in the escape of a handcuffed rape suspect from police custody in Beluran last Saturday.
State police commissioner Datuk Ramli Din said police are still on a manhunt for the 29-year-old who went missing at about 7.15pm.
"Disciplinary action will be taken against police personnel if we find they had been careless in the incident.
"(Based on standard operating procedure), a suspect is not supposed to be left alone in a (police) car, but we are still investigating the incident," Ramli said during a press conference in conjunction with a working visit by Brunei police at the state police headquarters here.
It is learned that the suspect, Nasrudi Ambo, who was arrested last Monday, was removed from police lock-up at about 3pm and was accompanied by two policemen to his home, to search for evidence of Nasrudi’s alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl.
Nasrudi was initially cuffed with his hands behind his back, but police switched this to have him cuffed over his stomach, to allow him to eat.
He told police he was thirsty, and was left alone in the patrol car as both officers went to a sundry shop to buy water for him.
Beluran police chief Supt Sivananthan V said they thought that they had locked the doors before leaving the suspect alone.
Upon returning to the car, the policemen noticed Nasrudi out and running towards a nearby oil palm estate. They lost his trail.
A massive manhunt, with roadblocks, was launched in the district after the incident was reported the following day.