TAPAH: No enforcement agency personnel was injured in the riot incident which led to 131 Myanmar and Rohingya illegal migrants escaping from the Bidor Immigration Detention Depot today.
Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said that all the illegal migrants broke through the perimeter fence and barbed wire around the depot area to escape.
Yusri said that the escapes fled towards a nearby forest area located on the opposite side and separated by the North-South Expressway (PLUS) route.
He added that police were confident that all the illegal migrants would be re-arrested as they had escaped with no clothes on their backs as well as being without food and money.
"Under such a situation, god willing with the involvement of various agencies, all the escaped detainees will be arrested soon. We have also received assistance from Bukit Aman's Air Operations Force's Air Wing Unit.
"Our search is directed at a radius around the area close to the depot as the area is surrounded by oil palm plantations and is near the PLUS highway," he told reporters outside the depot here, today.
He said seven roadblocks hade been set up by Tapah district police headquarters and nearby district police stations including in Kampar, Muallim and Hilir Perak.
"We may add more roadblocks if necessary. Although there have been no arrests so far, we have received some information and we are tracking the escapees down," he said.
Yusri also warned the public not to show any sympathy by trying to protect the migrants who escaped as they could be charged with complicity.
"I advise the public not to conspire or sympathise with these detainees because they can also be prosecuted for cooperating or conniving with them.
"So far we believe that they are still in the vicinity of this oil palm plantation (around the depot) or in this district (Tapah)," he said.
Earlier, police confirmed that 131 illegal migrants from Myanmar escaped from the Bidor Temporary Immigration Depot.
District police chief Superintendent Mohd Naim Asnawi said that there was a riot inside the male block depot, and all the detainees managed to flee the facility.
"We received the first call about the incident yesterday, informing us that 131 detainees had escaped the Bidor Immigration Depot.
"One of the escapees died after being involved in an accident at KM335 of the North-South Expressway (northbound)," Naim said.