Sri Aman police chief Dennis Bunyam identified the escapee as John Sambang Sangau, 38, who fled through an “anti-climb” project gate within the prison compound.

He said John had been serving his sentence under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 since Oct 20, 2024, and was scheduled for release on Jan 24 next year.

“Initial investigations revealed that the suspect escaped wearing only a pair of green long trousers,” he said in a statement.

The escape was detected by officers on duty, who immediately launched a search but were unable to locate the prisoner.

A police report was lodged by the prison at 8.34am at the Sri Aman police station.

Following the escape, police have activated “Op Tutup”, setting up roadblocks at Km7 Jalan Sri Aman–Kuching, and mobilising personnel across all district police stations under “Op Kesan”.

“Assistance from the Sarawak police headquarters’ tracker dog unit (K9) and the 23rd Battalion of the General Operations Force has also been requested to help track down the suspect,” he added.