120 policemen in hunt for escaped detainees

Penang police have deployed 120 policemen to track down the seven detainees who escaped after blinding their police escorts with chilli powder and hijacking the police van taking them to the Butterworth courts complex yesterday.

State Chief Police Officer Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said today personnel from the General Operations Force and the Bukit Aman police air unit were also helping in the search.

"We believe the detainees are still in the Tasek Gelugor area. Police have set up roadblocks there," he told reporters after a visit to Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Li Tek A, here.

He advised members of the public to contact any police station if they came across anyone behaving in a suspicious manner, and warned that the detainees were dangerous and aggressive.

He also said that police were trying to determine how the detainees got hold of the chilli powder which they hurled at their police escorts before fleeing.