PETALING JAYA, Sept 12 — The police are appealing to the public for their cooperation in tracing the whereabouts of an Iranian man who escaped custody after his case mention at the Petaling Jaya (PJ) Court this morning.   

PJ police chief ACP Arjunaidi Mohamed said Rafat Manesh Gavhei Mahmood, 48, arrested on Feb 20 under Section 39(B) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, was not handcuffed when he made a run for it about 10.30 am from the vicinity of the court’s detention cell.  

“We understand that it happened while he and a group of other prisoners were in the process of being transported back to the Sungai Buloh Prison, after his case was mentioned for transfer from the Magistrates Court to the High Court,” he told a press conference here today. 

Arjunaidi said the man had two addresses, namely USJ 5, Subang Jaya and Regalia Residency, Jalan Sultan Ismail, KL and was detained at USJ 8.  He added that a police corporal in his 50s, who sustained minor injuries on his hand during a scuffle with the escapee, has been detained to facilitate investigations.

“We don’t discount the possibility of negligence on the part of the officers in relation to the standard operating procedures for handling detainees at court,” he said. 

He stressed that a thorough investigation was being conducted, including to determine if it was an ‘inside job’. — Bernama