Depot riot: Women, children among Rohingya casualties, say Penang cops

ALOR SETAR: Women and children were among Rohingya detainees killed in several road accidents while trying to escape from the immigration detention depot in Relau, Bandar Baharu here on Wednesday (April 20), say Penang police.

Penang police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said in one of the accidents, six of the escapees comprising two men, two women and two children (a boy and a girl) were killed.

"Police with the help of local villagers managed to rearrest 317 of the inmates while 205 of them are still at large," said Comm Mohd Shuhaily.

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Earlier Wednesday, a riot at an immigration detention centre in Relau, Bandar Baharu in Kedah resulted in a massive prison break that saw about 500 detainees fleeing.

According to sources, a total of nine of the escapees were killed in trying to cross the North-South Expressway in Jawi, while one more died in the detention centre during the riot due to illness.

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A protest around 5am by around 650 Rohingya detainees there quickly turned into a riot.

The efforts to round up the remaining escapees are ongoing.