City police chief Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said the detainees, aged from 19 to 51, were hauled up for questioning over the incident.

He said he had deployed all policemen in the field as well as personnel from various departments in the city police force to the depot after receiving a report over the 6.30am incident yesterday.

“The Light Strike Force (LSF), the police riot unit (Poru), General Operations Force as well as the police air wing drone unit were summoned to the location as a precaution,” he said when contacted today.

The show of force was to assist the immigration personnel at the depot keep the situation under control, he added.

“After that, all the inmates cooperated with the police and returned to their cells at 7.40am,” Zaidi said.

It was reported yesterday that almost 400 detainees were involved in the rioting, which was due to delays in the deportation process.

The inmates, believed to be Filipinos, only escaped from their cells but did not manage to leave the fenced-up depot.

Sabah immigration deputy director (operations) Masri Adul had said initial investigations found that the unrest started from the block housing women inmates.

Their cries were subsequently heard by male inmates in the adjacent block. This resulted in the rioting.

Zaidi and Masri also spent about an hour speaking to the inmates to control the situation.

Zaidi said the case was being investigated under Section 147 of the Penal Code for rioting.

Masri had earlier said the delay in the deportation exercise was due to a request by the Philippines embassy, which was concerned over the risk of a Covid-19 outbreak.

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