Thai authorities say Uighur escapees may be in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: The government has been informed by Thai authorities that 15 Uighurs who escaped from a detention centre may be in the country, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said they are still at large but he dare not confirm if they have entered the country.
"We are working with Aseanpol, Interpol and other authorities to determine their whereabouts," he said.
Zahid, who is also the Home Minister, said if they are here, the government knows how to track them down.
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan said five of the 20 Uighur escapees had been recaptured, but he did not furnish details of it, the location of their recapture or which country arrested them.
"Five of them have been recaptured and the rest have crossed the border (into Malaysia). So, now we are contacting our counterparts in Malaysia to send them back to us," he told the media after attending the weekly cabinet meeting, here.
He said there were 100 to 200 Uighurs currently under detention in Thailand.
In the 2am (3am in Malaysia) incident yesterday, 20 ethnic Uighurs awaiting repatriation to their home country escaped from Sadao's Immigration detention centre, with officials believing they headed to the nearby jungle at the Malaysia-Thailand border.