GEORGE TOWN, MALAYSIA - Three Vietnamese women, in their haste to escape a police raiding party, slipped and fell to their deaths from the 11th floor of an apartment in River Road here.

Two died on the spot, their bodies found sprawling in a pool of blood in the open space of the apartment block, while the other, who landed on a garbage bin during the 9.50pm incident last night, succumbed to her injuries at the Penang Hospital.

The women, aged between 23 and 33, were said to have climbed out from the unit via a window in one of the rooms.

Two others who were also in the unit have been detained for investigation.

George Town OCPD Asst Comm Azam Abd Hamid said the two would have their statements taken before being handed over to the Immigration Department to be deported.

A police raiding team had earlier arrived at the unit after receiving a tip-off that the women staying in the unit were involved in vice activities.

ACP Azam said that when police entered the apartment, the three ran into one of the rooms while the other two did not run.

"My men immediately rushed in, but to their surprise, nobody was found in the room. They then looked down from the window and saw the three had fallen to the ground," he said when met at the scene.

ACP Azam said initial investigation revealed that the three were not tenants of the unit, adding that all had valid travel documents but not working permits.

--The Star/ANN