Lim showing the mugshots of all four detainees.
KUCHING (July 5): Information received from residents of Mile 11 High Park housing estate and a food delivery service rider helped lead to the successful capture of the remaining two detainees who escaped remand at Puncak Borneo Prison last week.
Padawan district deputy chief DSP Lim Jaw Shyong said that the tip-off received around 10.30am today had helped the police and authorities involved to pinpoint the location of detainees.
He said that they were caught at around 2.30pm at a swamp near the housing estate, adding that they were found hiding in the swamp with their bodies fully submerged and their heads partially submerged.
“Both detainees, a 26-year-old from Sibu and a 38-year-old Indonesian were found in weak condition due to lack of food. Some injuries were found on them, believed to be caused by their movement in the jungle during the night.
“Thanks to the information received from the housing estate’s residents and the rider, we are able to capture both the detainees today,” he told reporters at a press conference held at Padawan district police headquarters in Siburan here today.
Lim pointed out that the success was also due to the cooperation between the district police, the General Operation Force (GOF) Tiger Platoon, the Police Air Wing Unit, the Prisons Department, and the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela).
He added that the operation to track down the two detainees, including Ops Tutup launched last Thursday, involved a total of 137 officers and personnel from the aforementioned agencies.
The 26-year-old was remanded for housebreaking while the Indonesian remanded for drug trafficking.
The remaining two detainees were then handed over to Puncak Borneo Prison after their capture.
The operation ended at 5pm today.
The two were among four detainees who managed to escaped from a prison transit house in Puncak Borneo Prison during a thunderstorm at around 5.10pm on July 1.
They escaped by prying open a grille inside one of the toilets and leaving the prison compound, heading towards nearby jungle.
“However, two of the detainees, a 36-year-old from Lundu and a 29-year-old from Kuching were caught by the prison patrol around 6.25pm and 10.50pm respectively on July 2 at a Chinese cemetary and Lorong 10, Kampung Sinar Baru in Padawan,” Lim said.