Segamat cops on district-wide manhunt after freeing wrong manMore
JOHOR BARU, Oct 14 — Two policemen here have been arrested after they ‘accidentally’ allowed a detainee to escape from the Segamat police station lock-up.
The corporal, who was the shift supervisor, and constable had at 9.30am on Thursday received a bail notice from the Segamat district Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department (NCID) to release a detainee.
“Following that, the corporal called out the detainee’s name several times. A detainee responded claiming it was him.
“The detainee, who was clad in an orange t-shirt and purple short pants, was taken from his cell and freed from the police lock-up after being handed his bail documents, without a full identity check,” said sources.
The corporal only realised they had made a mistake when he carried out a check on the cell after the detainee was released.
The district police immediately sent out an all-points bulletin (APB) via the district command centre.
Police also mounted roadblocks, followed by a district-wide manhunt by detectives.
Police identified the escapee as Azrulnizam Ariff, 39, from Jementah in Segamat, who was detained for drug possession.
Sources said the suspect had 10 previous criminal records, mainly drug cases.
“All police districts have been alerted on details of the suspect’s as well as his 37-year-old wife who investigators believe was with him.”
Johor police chief Commissioner Datuk Mohd Khalil Kader Mohd said police have formed a task force to track down the suspect.
“Since Thursday, we have activated Ops Tutup and Ops Kesan operations in the district to track the detainee,” he said yesterday.
Mohd Khalil confirmed there was an element of carelessness as the lock-up and remand standard operating procedure was not adhered to closely.
Sources also told Malay Mail police would conduct an internal investigation against the two policemen for negligence.
“The corporal is in his late 30s, while the constable is a fresh recruit in his 20s. Investigators will study the close circuit television (CCTV) footages and probe the cause of the incident.”
Initial investigations revealed that the escapee and the detainee who was supposed to be released shared the
same cell.
Sources said investigators are not dismissing the possibility that the man who was to be released had been in cahoots with his cell mate.
“Both detainees have been in and out of the police lock-ups before this and there is a possibility that they may have taken advantage of the policemen’s weakness in not conducting a through identity check before releasing the detainee,” said sources.
This latest incident is the third embarrassing case involving police in the state.
On Oct 9, seven policemen from Muar district police were disciplined after they were caught on social media partying at a karaoke outlet last month.
This followed a report on a patrol car policeman from the Segamat district police who was photographed holding the hand of a Thai masseur on Oct 10.
