SRI AMAN — A male inmate who was nearing the end of his sentence escaped from the Sri Aman Central Prison after climbing a temporary gate located behind one of the prison blocks at about 7.15 am today.

Sri Aman police chief, Supt Dennis Bunyam, said the prisoner, identified as John Sambang Sangau, 38, fled through an “Anti-Climb” project gate within the prison compound.

He said John had been serving his sentence under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 since last Oct 20 and was scheduled for release on Jan 24 next year.

“Initial investigations revealed that the suspect escaped wearing only a pair of green long trousers,” he said in a statement.

The incident was detected by officers on duty, who immediately launched a search, but were unable to locate the suspect.

A police report was subsequently lodged by the prison at 8.34 am at the Sri Aman Police Station.

Following the escape, police have activated “Op Tutup”, setting up roadblocks at KM7 Jalan Sri Aman–Kuching, and mobilised personnel across all police stations in the district to implement “Op Kesan”.“Assistance from the Sarawak Contingent Police Headquarters’ Tracker Dog Unit (K9) and the 23rd Battalion of the General Operations Force has also been requested to help track down the suspect,” he added.