Villagers feed hungry escapees while waiting for cops to arrive

TAPAH: The residents of Kampung Batu Melintang here provided food and drinks to two detainees who escaped from the Bidor Immigration depot here before police arrived.

Retired teacher Razali Talib, 69, said the two detainees, who were in their teens, were apprehended by people from the Masjid Jamek Ar Rahmaniah Batu Melintang and he offered them sustenance because he felt sorry for them.

“They didn’t ask for food but gave them two packets of fried noodles.

“One of them didn’t want fried noodles and asked for instant noodles instead. However, the other was probably very hungry and finished one-and-a-half packets of noodles,” he said here on Saturday (Feb 3).

Razali, who is also the mosque’s imam, said he saw the duo inside the mosque before dawn prayers.

“As people were preparing for the prayers, we proceeded and they joined in. I left them alone,” he said.

After the prayers, Razali asked his friend, retired police officer Mohd Isa Ariffin, 70, to contact the police.

While waiting for the police to arrive, Razali engaged the duo in conversation.

“One couldn’t speak Malay and the other claimed to be from Myanmar and was working in the area. I urged them not to make up stories as there has been no Myanmar or Bangladeshis working here,” he said, adding that they were casually dressed but did not have shoes.

Razali said police arrived at the mosque confirmed that the two had indeed escaped from the Bidor Immigration depot and were subsequently taken to the Ipoh police headquarters.

Razali said villagers had been vigilant after hearing about the mass escape of detainees from the depot.

“This area has many retired policemen. They regularly tell the community about village security matters and legal concerns,” he said.

In the Thursday night incident, a total of 131 illegal immigrants escaped from the male block of the detention centre.

Tragically, one lost their life while trying to cross a highway.

Out of the 131 escapees, 115 were Rohingya, 15 were Myanmar nationals and one was a Bangladeshi. – BK