Unable to Celebrate Raya at Home, 1542 Detainees Initiate Protest at Sabah Immigration Depot

By Karissa Lund  •  26 Apr 2021 in News

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According to NST, more than 1,500 detainees launched a protest at the Immigration detention depot in Manggatal, Sabah yesterday (25 April) out of frustration at being unable to return home for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays.

The situation was eventually brought under control when the Light Strike Force from the Kota Kinabalu district police headquarters were deployed to the scene.

Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali said there were no injuries or escape attempts recorded among the detainees following the incident.

“We were only notified there were several damages and that (the protest) only involved one block,” he said.

Hazani also mentioned that preliminary investigations suggested that most of the detainees were displeased at not being able to return home in time for Hari Raya. He specified that 1,542 detainees took part in the protest, adding that this was not the first time it has happened.

“A similar incident took place in 2015 where detainees protested two days before Hari Raya. At the moment, the deportation process for the detainees have been halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.