Tight security: Police personnel manning a roadblock to re-capture the escapees in Tasek Gelugor.

KEPALA BATAS: Four policemen have been suspended from their duties over the escape of seven detainees they were escorting to the Butterworth courthouse.

Penang police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said they were suspended after investigations revealed that they did not follow rules and were negligent.

“They may also face disciplinary action,'' he said.

Meanwhile, police spotted one of the runaways in an abandoned house near an oil palm plantation in Kampung Tun Sardon in Tasek Gelugor near here.

But the man gave them the slip at about 5.30pm yesterday.

“He ran into the plantation when he saw us and was only wearing pants,” said Penang deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Abdul Rahim Jaafar.

The suspect's identity could not be determined.

Police are combing the area as they believe the other six runaways are also hiding there.

The detainees are believed to have thrown curry powder or instant noodles seasoning to blind policemen before making their escape from a police van at about 9am on Monday.

The escapees are Hissham Abdul Rahman, 39, Mohd Sharimy Nor, 28, Mohd Khairulnizam Abdul Rani, 26, Hamzani Abdul Rahman, 37, Mohd Fairus Adam, 31, Mohd Noor Mustafa, 28, and Farid Akhtar whose age is unknown.

In a related development, a sister of Hissham has appealed to him to surrender.

The 40-year-old housewife, who declined to be named, said she believed her brother had been influenced by the other escapees.

She said Hissham, who lived alone near her house in Pokok Tampang, Tasek Gelugor, after their mother died, was arrested last year for burglary.

The housewife said Hissham was a divorcee with two children, both of whom are living with their mother.

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