[UPDATED] Bebas! Immigration escapees claim friends denied medicine, died in detention

JAWI – Kg Relau resident Syamsuddin Che Adni was shocked to see hundreds of detainees fleeing the Sg Bakap immigration depot in the early hours today, shouting “bebas!” (free) as they went.

Syamsuddin, 29, said he was returning home after having his sahur meal when he and some friends approached the escapees to strike up a conversation.

“They told us that some of their friends died in the detention centre and were not given medication when they were ill. 

“I also saw the six foreigners trying to cross the North-South Expressway and were hit by a trailer. We shouted at them to not cross but they ignored us.

“I held one of the victims who is a girl, estimated to be 8 years old, before she died.”

Syamsuddin also said he followed some of the escapees who walked barefoot for some 10km towards the highway.

Another witness, rancher Kenneth Stephen Perkins, said he saw adults dragging children along as they attempted to flee from the depot just across the road from his stable.

He said he approached a few of them to ask if they were heading out for sahur, but when they were unable to respond in Malay he sensed something amiss.

“I suspected that they were mostly Rohingya. They were in a deplorable condition. Some were barefooted and some wore dishevelled clothing,” Kenneth said when contacted.

Earlier, Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said six of the 528 escaped immigration detainees died while trying to cross the PLUS highway at KM165 southbound after their escape from the temporary detention depot in Sg Bakap.

Immigration Director-General Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said in a statement that the detainees fled after breaking the block door and the grill barrier at the depot.

At 4.20am, hundreds of detainees fled the temporary depot, much to the surprise of nearby residents, who took photos and videos of them escaping. – The Vibes, April 20, 2022

Additional reporting by Ian McIntyre