Malaysia police looking for three Bangladeshis who escaped from COVID-19 quarantine centre

Three Bangladeshis have reportedly run away from a COVID-19 quarantine centre in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

They are among the nine foreigners who left the quarantine centre located at the Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus (IPG) Bahasa Antarabangsa when they were supposed to be under quarantine.

Malaysian police are now looking for them and tracing their whereabouts, The Star Online reports quoting Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Seri Mazlan Lazim on Wednesday.

In a statement on Wednesday, he said, "We received three police reports over the disappearances of the foreigners. All of them are construction workers who were quarantined at the centre.”

All nine men had gone through screenings for Covid-19 but tested negative, he added.

"However, they needed to be quarantined to ensure they are really not infected with the virus," he said, adding that police are investigating further.

Comm Mazlan said KL police has also stepped up security at the quarantine centre and increase the number of personnel on duty.

"The fence that was damaged by the foreigners before they escaped have also been reinforced with barbed wire," the Malaysian newspaper quoted him as saying.

He also advised members of the public not to panic and continue to follow the standard operating procedures set by the Health Ministry.