IPOH: Several locations where the remaining 30 escapees from the Bidor Immigration Department detention centre are believed to be hiding out have been identified.
Perak Immigration director Meor Hezbullah Meor Abd Malik The Perak said the fugitives are believed to be seeking shelter with their own community in certain districts.
"We are monitoring some of these locations.
"There is also a possibility they are hiding in districts like Kinta, Kuala Kangsar or Taiping," he told a press conference here on Tuesday (March 12).
On Feb 1, 131 illegal immigrants escaped from the male block of the detention depot – 115 Rohingya, 15 Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi national.
Two escapees died in road accidents.
"We believe the fugitives are still in the state, and as of now, there is no information of them fleeing to other states," Meor Hezbullah said.
He also said the detention centre was still operational, although it did not currently house any detainees.
"Our officers and personnel are still on duty there as usual," he said, adding that repairs to the damage caused by the breakout were ongoing.
On a separate matter, Meor Hezbullah said 350 foreigners in Perak had signed up for the Migrant Repatriation Programme, which began nationwide on March 1.
They were from Indonesia (268), Bangladesh (25), India (24), Pakistan (17), Myanmar (nine), Nepal (three), Sri Lanka (two), Vietnam (one) and Singapore (one).
