Three of five local escapees captured

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KOTA KINABALU: In just less than an hour, three of the five local men who escaped from the police lock-up here, were rearrested yesterday.

The three suspects, aged between 20 and 35, were still in their detention uniform when police re-them at different locations around the city.

City Police Chief ACP Ahmad Sofi Zakaria said police were still tracking down the two remaining suspects, namely Hanafie @ Pay Patrick, 22, from Kampung Baru, Luyang, Kota Kinabalu and Indy Sulaiman Ibnul, 28, from Kampung Warisan, Inanam.

“All suspects have been remanded for the last 10 days and were supposed to be charged in court this week. They managed to escape from our custody at around 2am,” he said.

Ahmad Sofi said three of the escapees are gang members and were arrested for alleged involvement in armed robbery. They were investigated under Section 395 and 397 of the Penal Code.

“The remaining two escapees still at large are from another group, and one of them is involved in car theft cases, while the other was arrested for robbery.

“We have notified all stations to be on a lookout of these two escapees,” he said.

Ahmad Sofi added that the case will be investigated under Section 224 of the Penal Code for escaping from police custody and Section 225 (A) for being an accomplice.

“If we find that police officers or personnel are involved, they will not be spared,” he said during a press conference at the city police headquarters in Karamunsing.

Disciplinary action will be taken against police officers or personnel who are found involved in the case, apart from charging them in court.

Ahmad Sofi added that the three suspects had acted aggressively to avoid arrest.

“They failed in their bid to escape again. Investigation revealed that they have at least five previous convictions involving robberies and car theft.”

Ahmad Sofi also urged those who know the whereabouts of the remaining two suspects to contact the city police station or the investigating officer ASP Awang Anak Suwanda at tel: 013-7381319.