Hunt on after Houdini act in court complex

GEORGE TOWN: Two men in chained handcuffs managed to pull off a Houdini act and slip out of their handcuffs in the court complex here.

And police are puzzled as to how they managed to make keys to get out of their cuffs. The policemen found the key in a drain near the court complex in Lebuh Light.

Police have launched a manhunt to locate self-employed Khairul Nizam Abdullah Sani (pic), 33. The other accused G. Anned Babu, 37, was nabbed after a short chase.

Khairul Nizam and Anned Babu were among 29 detainees who were escorted by four policemen to the Black Maria from the court’s lock up at about 5.20pm on Wednesday, said George Town OCPD Asst Comm Anuar Omar.

“The accused were handcuffed in three sets of chained handcuffs, but the two managed to free themselves.

“The policemen gave chase and rearrested Anned Babu,” he said yesterday.

ACP Omar said Anned Babu told them Khairul Nizam had a key to the handcuff and had thrown it into a drain after the escape.

The key recovered from the drain was not a duplicate key but “a self-made one”, said ACP Omar.

“We are still investigating how he managed to get the key in the first place. We believe he could have gotten the key from someone else.

“Please do not speculate. Let us investigate,” he said, adding that Anned Babu was under custody at the state remand prison.