TAK: The Mae Sot immigration chief has been transferred pending an investigation into the escape of two Uighur men from an immigration detention centre on Wednesday. The escapees remained at large yesterday.
The Immigration Bureau chief signed an order moving Pol Col Sangkhom Thadso, chief of Mae Sot immigration office, to work as an assistant at the bureau head office, a source said.
Teams from several agencies yesterday continued their hunt for the two Uighur escapees, aged 41 and 29.
The search area was expanded along the Myanmar border, but they found no trace of the two men.
The men escaped from the detention centre in Mae Sot district in the early hours of Wednesday. They had reportedly rubbed dish soap on the iron bars at the detention centre to corrode them. When rust formed, they cut through the bars.
According to police, it was not the first time the two had escaped from a detention centre. The pair escaped from a centre in Nong Khai province for 21 days before they were caught.
After the incident, the migrants were transferred to the immigration centre in Tak province's Mae Sot district.