THE authorities are continuing to track down 61 Rohingya who escaped from an immigration depot in Kedah last April, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.

He said the authorities had rearrested 461 of the escapees, of whom 331 were adults and 130 children. 

He said six detainees were killed in a road accident while fleeing the Bandar Baharu detention centre.

“The detainees who had been rearrested have been transferred to other immigration depots,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.

“The police investigation has been completed and all the detainees involved will be charged in court in the near future.”

Saifuddin was replying to Syerleena Abdul Rashid (Bukit Bendera-PH), who asked for an update on the incident.

Last April, 528 Rohingya broke out of the Bandar Baharu detention centre.

Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud has said the Rohingya were detained in Langkawi in 2019.

“The 528 Rohingya who were placed at the Sungai Bakap temporary immigration depot were originally detained in the waters off Langkawi,” he said.

“They were then placed at the Langkawi Wawasan camp.

“However, the camp was closed in 2021 and the refugees were transferred to several depots, including that in Sungai Bakap.” – February 16, 2023.