A suspected drug user managed to leave his captors at a Kampong Thom prison red-faced after it emerged that he had given the guards the slip.

Som Vesna was arrested last weekend by anti-drug police and sent to the jail to await a summons to appear in court and be charged, police said. But the young man apparently had no intention of facing a judge.

After feigning convulsions brought on by a “stomach ache”, Vesna was sent on Monday to a nearby hospital by police for treatment, but somewhere between leaving the jail and arriving at the clinic he allegedly flew the coop.

“Until now, the authorities are still searching for the suspect in order to take him back to detention and await prosecution under the law,” said Phean Chhorvoan, the Kampong Thom provincial prison director.

Chou Som An, the provincial police chief, said he was unaware of the escape, adding that there “needs to be a thorough investigation”.

Vesna’s cunning escape is the second breakout in recent days. On Friday in Prey Veng province, prisoner Prum Phoeung evaded prison guards and made a clean getaway. Three guards thought to have aided Phoeung’s escape have since been arrested and detained in Kampong Cham.