The police tonight arrested one of five detainees who were among nine who escaped from custody on Monday.

Mohamad Farid Akhtar, 24, was nabbed in Kubang Semang here at 9pm.

He was among the nine ferried in a police van to a magistrate's court in Butterworth from the Penang Prison on Monday, when they made good their escape.

State police deputy chief Abdul Rahim Jaafar attributed public information to the capture of Mohamad Farid.

"Following the arrest, we are confident of rounding up the rest of the fugitives soon," he told Bernama .

At about 9am on Monday, nine Penang Prison detainees en route to the court in Butterworth, escaped from police custody in a police van after assaulting their escorts.

Subsequently, two detainees were re-arrested near the van which was found abandoned at Kampung Padang Chempedak.

On Thursday, two others were gunned down at Kampung Padang Ibu in Bukit Mertajam.

- Bernama