Northeast District Police chief ACP Anuar Omar said in the 5.20 pm incident, Khairul Nizam Abdullah Sani, 33, fled when police personnel were escorting him from the court’s lockup to the Black Maria after his hearing.

“Initial investigations revealed that the man and another detainee ran away after opening the chained handcuff which was binding them with 27 other detainees using what was believed to be a self-made key.

“The other 37-year-old detainee was caught on the court grounds. There were four police officers accompanying the detainees when the incident occurred,” he said here, yesterday.

He said police found the key used by the suspect to open the handcuffs inside a drain at the court complex.

Further investigations are still being carried out, including how the detainee got hold of the key, Annuar added.