Five Menggatal detention centre escapees still at large

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police are still on a manhunt for five foreign men who fled from the Temporary Detention Centre (PTS) in Menggatal, near here on Monday.
Sabah Police Commissioner, Datuk Ramli Din said the five suspects escaped from the PTS at about 6.45pm.
"Actually during the incident, seven individuals fled from the centre but two of them were later caught near the centre.
"Following the incident, police launched an operation to recapture all the suspects at large including Op Tutup and the details of the escapees had been distributed to all personnel on duty," he said.
He told the media after attending a handover ceremony for the new Penampang police chief at the Penampang police headquarters here today.
Commenting further, Ramli said initial investigations found the negligence of guards at the PTS was the cause of the incident.
"The guards at the centre are from the private sector and we had held discussions with the National Security Council (MKN) on the incident to identify the cause of the incident," he said.
Earlier in the ceremony, Ramli witnessed former Sipitang CID chief Haris Ibrahim appointed as the new Penampang police chief effective today.
Haris Ibrahim replaced DSP Rosley Hobden who was transferred to Miri, Sarawak in Dec last year. — Bernama