GEORGE TOWN – Penang police today said they have recorded the statement of the driver in a fatal accident involving six Rohingyas who were part of a mass escape from a temporary detention depot in Sg Bakap.
Six Rohingyas comprising two men, two women, a boy, and a girl died when they were hit by a car while trying to cross the North-South Expressway with a group of escapees from the depot at 6.50pm yesterday.
Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said they took the statement from the 53-year-old driver yesterday.
“He is still in a state of shock and trauma as a result of the incident because he himself did not think there were people who would cross the highway,” Shuhaily said at a news conference at the state police headquarters.
“Preliminary investigation also found that the man from Penang was not driving fast and he did not suffer any injuries as a result of the accident.”
Shuhaily said police have identified the six victims, aged between eight and 36, and their bodies had been sent to Sg Bakap Hospital.
Police are looking for more witnesses to assist in investigations, he said.
Meanwhile, Shuhaily said Penang police have requested Bukit Aman’s air unit to assist the search operation for over 100 more escapees.
“So far, we have managed to re-arrest 30 Rohingya detainees since yesterday evening, and the remaining detainees still at large are believed to number 111 more,” he said.
Shuhaily said the 30 re-arrested male detainees were mostly found in forest areas and in Sg Kerian, and were not aggressive.
He said he believed most of the escaped detainees were still in the area around Seberang Prai Selatan as they are barefoot and lack food and direction.
A total of 528 Rohingya detainees escaped from the Sg Bakap temporary detention depot at about 4am yesterday.
Immigration Director-General Datuk Seri Khairul Dzaimee Daud said in a statement that they fled after breaking the block door and the grille barrier. – The Vibes, April 21, 2022
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