20 Rohingya escape in Ayutthaya

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31 Aug 2013 at 16.07

AYUTTHAYA - Twenty Rohingya migrants escaped from a detention centre in tambon Hua Ro of Muang district on Saturday morning, police said.

The illegal immigrants had been transferred to the site in Ayutthaya six months ago by the Immigration Bureau in Kanchanaburi. Authorities decided on the transfer because of conflicts that had broken out with another 20 Rohingya who had been detained and were awaiting repatriation.

Pol Maj Gen Kornek Phetchaives, superintendent of Ayutthaya police station, said officers from 26 stations were on alert for the escapers.
Police realised at around 5am Saturday that the Rohingya under their responsibility had disappeared, he said.

The police found only their mattresses and clothes and a hole in a steel structure in the detention room, which is situated inside the compound of a police station.
There have been frequent breakouts from immigration detention centres by Rohingya migrants who fear being sent back to Myanmar where they face persecution. Those who elude capture seek to become labourers but some become victims of human traffickers.
Human rights groups have urged the Thai government to create better shelters for the migrants until a more long-term solution can be found.

They say that the Immigration Act gives authorities the discretion to move the Rohingya to a proper place outside of immigration detention centres.

Credid: Bangkok Post