A Rape Suspect In Sabah Escaped While The Police Went To Buy Drinks
He managed to sneak away from the police in his handcuffs.
By Tang Ruxyn — 28 Feb 2017, 01:32 PM
A rape suspect has escaped from custody while the police left him alone to buy drinks
Nasrudi Ambo was arrested by police on 20 February for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl in a plantation in Beluran, Sabah.
However, just less than a week later, the 29-year-old managed to flee from police custody - while he was handcuffed - at Restoran Kyber in Pekan Nangoh, Beluran, Sabah.
The incident reportedly happened on 25 February, when the suspect and the police were on their way back to the state police headquarters.
It appears that the whole escape transpired from the rape suspect's request for food to break fast
According to media reports, the police had removed Nasrudi from police lock-up at about 3pm that day to retrieve some evidence to facilitate investigation into a rape case.
He was handcuffed at the back and was escorted by a team of police officers as they travelled to a few locations to pick up several objects related to the case.
At about 7.15pm, they made a stop at the restaurant to get food after the suspect told the police he needed to break fast as he was fasting on that day.
It was reported that the police had switched to handcuffing his hands from the back to the front to enable him to break his fast.
In less than 180 seconds, the rape suspect was gone
It is learned that the suspect was left alone in the backseat of the police car while the police officers went to a sundry shop to buy water for the suspect who said that he was thirsty.
After about three minutes, the policemen who thought that the car doors were locked, returned only to find that the suspect had disappeared.
NST reported that the police officers "noticed the suspect out and running towards a nearby oil palm estate". They tried to give him a chase but eventually lost his trail.
Meanwhile, it is said that strict action will be taken against the police officers involved if they are found guilty of negligence
It was reported that the police officers involved in the incident are currently under probe.
"Disciplinary action will be taken against police personnel if we find they had been careless in the incident."
"(Based on standard operating procedure), a suspect is not supposed to be left alone in (police) car, but we are still investigating the incident," Sabah police commissioner Datuk Ramli Din was quoted as saying by NST.
He added that the police have launched a manhunt for Nasrudi, who is said to have no travel document and was working as a plantation worker.