131 escape Malaysia immigration detention center leading to one casualty News
AyyanD, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
131 escape Malaysia immigration detention center leading to one casualty

Ruslin Jusoh, Director-General of Malaysia’s Immigration Department, announced Thursday that 131 primarily Rohingya men from Myanmar escaped from the Bidor Immigration Detention Center in Perak, Malaysia, with one being killed.

Perak police provided details of the incident, revealing that the fatal event occurred during a riot within the detention center when an escapee attempted to cross a highway and was struck by a passing vehicle. In response to the crisis, Director-General Jusoh deployed 375 police officers, soldiers, and reservist volunteers to lead search efforts.

Malaysia has progressively emerged as a preferred haven for Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar or dire circumstances in refugee camps in Bangladesh, reflecting broader regional crises such as the 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar. Despite Malaysia being a popular location for those fleeing from persecution and violent conflict, the country is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and has no judicial system for processing asylum claims.

This incident mirrors a previous event in 2022, wherein over 500 Rohingya refugees absconded from a detention facility in Penang state, resulting in casualties. As per the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees data, 2023 marked the highest number of deaths at sea of Rohingya refugees in nine years.

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