Detainee who fled Penang lock-up recaptured in Perak

GEORGE TOWN: A man who escaped from the Bayan Baru police station central lock-up near here on Tuesday was recaptured in Batu Kurau, Perak yesterday, police said.

Penang police chief Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the escapee, Azizi Mohammad Hassan, 33, was arrested at about 6 pm at a chalet.

"Acting on intelligence, police nabbed him inside a room. We are trying to determine who helped bring him to the place.

"He was found with swellings and rashes on his body, believed due to skin allergies, and was immediately taken to the Penang Hospital for treatment," he told a press conference here today.

"Investigations show that the man, being held for a drug offence, escaped from the lock-up without help from anyone. It is believed he fled to be with his wife who was due to deliver a baby," he said.

However, there were elements of negligence and police are finalising the investigation paper involving six personnel with the rank of corporal and lance corporal, in their 20s and 30s, who were implicated in the case, he added.

-- BERNAMA