BANDAR BAHARU: Kedah police have launched an investigation into a rioting incident the temporary Immigration Department Detention Depot in Jalan Besar Relau here, which saw 528 Rohingya breaking out from the facility earlier today.
State police chief Commissioner of Police Wan Hassan Wan Ahmad said the police had not discounted the possibility that unhappiness over treatment had sparked the 4am rioting incident.
"There was probably an element of unhappiness among the detainees, but that is just based on initial investigations. We will look into the bottom of the incident.
"A team led by Kedah Criminal Investigations Department chief has been formed to carry out the investigations," he told reporters at the Bandar Baharu district police headquarters here, today.
Wan Hassan said based on initial probes, there were 23 Immigration Department staff on duty during the incident.
"Prior to the incident, in total there were 664 illegal Rohingya immigrants at the depot. From the total, 430 of them were male, 97 female, 69 boys and 68 girls,
"No serious injuries were reported we were informed that there were minor damages at the main entrance and the fencing.
"Because there were so many of detainees in cramped space, things got out of control and the detainees took the opportunity to break out."
Wan Hassan added that as of afternoon, 357 of the Rohingya detainees who had fled from the depot had been recaptured and the authorities were still tracking down the remaining 171 detainees.
He said police were working with their counterparts in Penang and the Immigration Department and other agencies to recapture the detainees.
"We have erected four road blocks in Bandar Baharu and five road blocks in Kulim while the Penang police have set-up four road blocks in Seberang Perai Selatan district besides launching Ops Cantas comprising seven teams to locate them.
"I believe they have not gone too far from the depot area and we are urging the public not to expose themselves to danger by providing assistance to the detainees.
"We believe some of them have hitchhiked local private vehicles after breaking out from the depot, so we urged the public who had offered them a lift to contact the police," he said.
It was learnt that the temporary Immigration Department Detention Depot was opened about two years ago to prevent illegal immigrants being infected by Covid-19 in cramped detention centres.
The site was a former Seri Impian National Service Camp located in Jalan Besar Relau.