April 6, 2011
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysian police have arrested 58 illegal immigrants, a senior official said on Wednesday after dozens fled a detention camp to escape difficult living conditions.
Police launched a major manhunt Tuesday after 109 inmates escaped from the Lenggeng immigration depot in Negeri Sembilan state, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
On Monday night the detainees, mainly from Myanmar, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, Thailand and Nigeria, burned down an accommodation block before fleeing.
Over 200 policemen, immigration officials and paramilitary volunteers are combing central Negeri Sembilan following the breakout.
District police chief Saiful Azly told AFP 58 inmates were arrested after being found in a nearby forest.
"The manhunt is continuing. I urge the remaining escapees to surrender," he said.
"Investigations showed that they were dissatisfied over cramped living conditions, the food and long detention periods," Abdul Manan Mohamad Hassan, state deputy police chief, was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
Abdul Manan said many had lost patience over the long process needed to resettle in third countries under the United Nations Refugee Agency programme.
Home ministry officials admitted last August to poor standards at detention centres for illegal immigrants and trafficking victims, after a report labelled the facilities "ticking time bombs".
With one of Asia's largest populations of foreign labourers, Malaysia relies on its 1.8 million immigrants to clean homes, care for children and work in plantations and factories.
Malaysia is seen as a staging post for trafficking gangs moving people from Afghanistan and Myanmar to Indonesia and Australia.
