PETALING JAYA: A Pakistani detainee who escaped from Sungai Buloh Prison eleven days ago survived by hiding in forests and sneaking into construction sites at night.
But the long arm of the law finally caught up with him on Saturday when he was recaptured by the immigration department officers.
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said that the suspect, who is under investigation for sexual assault and robbery, admitted to escaping while getting down from a police truck.
“While on the run, the suspect hid in forests near construction sites during the day and slipped into the area at night to seek shelter and sleep due to safety risks and threats from wild animals.
“The suspect also wore clothes stolen from the construction site to avoid detection by authorities,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He said the arrest was the result of six days of intelligence-gathering, assisted by information from the Pakistani Embassy.
Zakaria said checks showed the suspect entered Malaysia via Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Jan 11 last year and was granted a 30-day social visit pass.
The suspect was arrested at about 5pm on April 18 at KM24, Batu 14, Jalan Gombak Lama, by a team from the Intelligence and Special Operations Division of the Immigration Department headquarters.
He said an interview and identification process by a representative from the Pakistani Embassy on the same day confirmed the suspect as the individual who escaped police custody on April 9.
The suspect failed to produce valid identification documents when arrested and attempted to flee again, but was stopped by the enforcement team.
He said the suspect is being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and is currently being held at an immigration depot for further action.
Earlier yesterday, Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Shazeli Kahar issued a statement saying that the suspect had been rearrested.
The detainee was facing several charges, including under Section 377C of the Penal Code for sodomy, Section 392 for robbery, as well as immigration-related offences.
Earlier this month, a video of the prisoner escaping during a transfer from Sungai Buloh Prison made the rounds on social media.
The 30-second clip shows the Pakistani man breaking away from a line of inmates as they got down from the back of a truck.
Following the viral video, police revealed that they had launched a manhunt for the 24-year-old detainee.
