TAPAH, Feb 3 — A total of 39 of the 131 undocumented migrants who escaped from the Temporary Immigration Depot in Bidor on Thursday have been recaptured as of 8pm tonight.

Tapah district police chief Supt Mohd Naim Asnawi said they included 32 escapees who were arrested in operations today.

Mohd Naim said in a statement tonight that police arrested three of the Rohingya escapees in Kampung Batu Melintang and an oil palm estate in Kampung Senta here between 6am and 12.30pm.

He said at 12.30pm, police arrested four more Rohingya men in the Bidor forest area while a Bangladeshi man and nine Rohingya men were detained in Bukit Tapah, near Kampung Sungai Kenoh, between 2pm and 3pm.

“Another 13 Rohingya men were rounded up in Kampung Senta and one was nabbed in Kampung Pos Gedong, Bidor,” he said.

Mohd Naim said another Rohingya escapee was nabbed at 7.25pm in Kampung Bermin, Tapah.

“The escapees were all captured by police based on public tip-offs. Police believe many of the escapees are still hiding in villages in Tapah and Bidor,” he added.

Earlier, Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said 37 escapees had been recaptured as of 6pm today.

This included 13 escapees who were caught hiding in a farm in the Kampung Senta Orang Asli settlement. — Bernama