Cops in hot water over escape

Rape suspect in Beluran took off after being left alone in patrol car

KOTA KINABALU: The Beluran district police is under probe after a rape suspect escaped from custody.

The man, who was handcuffed in the front, had apparently been left alone in a patrol car.

“If the investigation shows that there had been negligence, then stern action will be taken against those involved,” Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Ramli Din said.

Nasrudi Ambo, 29, who escaped on Saturday, was arrested on Feb 20, for allegedly raping a 17-yearold girl in a plantation in Beluran.

On the day of the escape, a police team had brought him to his house where the alleged crime took place.

They left the Beluran police lockup at about 3pm.

After their evidence gathering, the suspect told the police he needed to break fast as he was fasting on that day.

He had been cuffed from behind, but the police switched it to the front so that he could eat.

They left him alone in the car when they went to buy water for him from a nearby sundry shop after he said he was thirsty.

Beluran police chief Supt Sivananthan V said the policemen returned to find that the suspect had vanished.

They then spotted him running towards a nearby oil palm estate and tried to catch him, but to no avail, he said.

A report was lodged at about 2pm the next day and a full force manhunt had been mounted.

Ramli told reporters yesterday that their focus now was to recapture Nasrudi.

Based on the standard operating procedure, he said a suspect was not supposed to be left alone in a police car.

“Let’s not jump to any conclusion. “We will wait for the outcome of the investigation,” he added.