Over 100 Myanmar migrants flee Malaysian detention centre, one dead
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KUALA LUMPUR – An undocumented migrant from Myanmar died in a road accident while fleeing an immigration detention centre in Malaysia with more than a hundred others late on Jan 1, officials said.
The incident was the second reported breakout from a Malaysian detention centre in as many years.
In April 2022, 582 ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar escaped an immigration depot in northern Kedah state
A total of 131 migrants escaped in the night from the Bidor immigration detention depot in Malaysia’s western Perak state on Jan 1, Immigration Department director-general Ruslin Jusoh said in a statement on Jan 2.
One of the migrants died in a road accident, he said, adding that search operations were ongoing for the remaining escapees.
The migrants, who escaped from the men’s block of the depot, comprised 115 ethnic Rohingya refugees and 16 Myanmar nationals of other ethnicities, state news agency Bernama reported, citing a statement from Perak police.
Bernama reported that the man who died had been struck by a vehicle on a highway.
Malaysia, which does not recognise refugee status, has long been a favoured destination for ethnic Rohingyas fleeing persecution in Myanmar or refugee camps in Bangladesh.
But in recent years, Malaysia has turned away boats carrying Rohingya refugees and rounded up thousands in crowded detention centres as part of a crackdown on undocumented migrants. REUTERS
