IT was third-time unlucky for this brazen runaway worker.

Last October, The New Paper reported on the Bangladeshi worker who had run away thrice in four months.

A security company hired by his employer found him twice, but he ran away again in September and remained on the loose for five months.


He even offered to pay his employer $400 to stop looking for him. (See report at right).

On 2 Mar, the law finally caught up with Didar Ali Rahajuddin (above).

The Malaysian Coast Guard scooped him out of the water near the Causeway as he made an early morning swim to Johor Baru.

Didar has been sentenced to fourmonths' jail, and is serving time in Kluang Prison. He will be repatriated after that.

DESPERATE

Didar was apparently so afraid of being caught and returned to his employer again that he braved icy-cold waters and tight security to escape to Malaysia, where it is believed he had contacts.

Early on 2 Mar, Didar made his way across the Johor Straits towards Pantai Lido, just to the left of the Causeway.

He didn't know that both Singapore and Johor coast guards had noticed him.

When police vessels arrived, Didar had just made it into Malaysian waters.

Singapore police spokesman Stanley Norbert confirmed that Didar was arrested by the Malaysian police.

The security company hired by his employer sent its assistant head of investigation to Pontian Prison to identify Didar on 8 Mar. Didar was held there before being transferred to Kluang a few days later.

Mr K S Ganesan, 43, told The New Paper that Didar seemed shell-shocked and confused when they spoke.

They had met once before, the first time Didar was caught and returned to his employer in August last year.

'He recognised me,' Mr Ganesan said. 'I asked him why he did something stupid like that, and he said he could not take the pressure of everyone looking for him.

'He said he didn't want to get caught and be sent back to Bangladesh, so he swam across to Malaysia to work. He said he swam all the way from Woodlands.'

Mr Ganesan said Didar mentioned plans to meet with someone in Johor Baru to find work, but did not give any details.

During their 20-minute chat, Didar told Mr Ganesan that it was freezing in the water, and he was exhausted by the time he was picked up by the Malaysian police vessel.

'When I met him, he had a fever and was wearing two layers of clothing,' Mr Ganesan recalled.

'He wanted to go home. He said he has learnt his lesson and never wants to leave Bangladesh again.'

Didar also told Mr Ganesan that while he was on the run in Singapore, he was working illegally, supplying other illegal workers to contractors.

The market rate for illegal workers is believed to be around $40 a day, and Didar would have earned about $10 in commission for each worker he introduced. It is not known how many workers he had.

The job paid him well, but he alleged that much of his earnings had been taken away as 'protection money'.

'He said that two foreign workers took $2,000 from him, and that they were handing it to his employer to buy his freedom. Every few days, he also had to pay them $50 to $100 in protection money.

'He asked me why his company was still looking for him after he paid so much money, and I had to tell him that he had been cheated. He seemed quite traumatised and confused. I think he believed the two men were telling him the truth,' Mr Ganesan said.

Didar's passport is still being held by the security company until insurance issues are ironed out.