Cipinang jail set ablaze during revolt

Cipinang jail set ablaze during revolt

JAKARTA (JP): One prisoner died as hundreds of police quelled
a revolt inside the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta in the
early hours of Wednesday morning.

Director General of Penitentiaries Adi Suyatno said the unrest
broke out when some 60 Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officers and
penitentiary guards were escorting 50 prisoners, mostly convicted
on drug offenses, to buses which were to transfer them to
Tangerang and Cirebon Penitentiaries.

"Some of the prisoners suddenly revolted. They broke loose ...
joined forces with hundreds of other prisoners and started
burning the place down," he said.

The rebellious prisoners, he added, took one of the wardens
hostage, but he was released later in the day.

It took 11 fire engines more than five hours to quench the
blaze.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Baharuddin Lopa reacted
strongly to the incident by ordering the dismissal of the
penitentiary's chief warden, Andronicus Takasiliang, and the
removal of dangerous inmates to the tightly-guarded Nusakambangan
penal island off the coast of Central Java.

"I have ordered Adi (Suyatno) to institute immediate and
effective measures, including revamping coordination among the
authorities in the penitentiary," he told journalists after
opening a workshop on human rights.

During the mayhem, some inmates tried to escape by scaling the
rear wall of the prison, but none of them succeeded.

Tear gas was fired several times during the riot, as
prisoners, armed with machetes, sickles, knives, and molotov
cocktails, threatened the lives of other prisoners and guards.

Four prisoners were shot in the stampede, with one of them,
later identified as Yadi Suryadi bin Zaelani, alias Morgan, dying
from a gunshot wound to the head.

The three injured, Dolly, Edi Sutanto and Nasirin, who were
shot in the back, arm and side respectively, were admitted to the
National Police's Kramatjati Hospital in East Jakarta.

Adi said that high-profile prisoners, including Mohamad "Bob"
Hasan and Ricardo Gelael, were unaffected as they were housed in
Block III, which is quite far from the scene of incident in
Blocks IA-IE and Blocks IIA-IIF.

City police chief Insp. Gen. Mulyono Sulaiman gave a slightly
different version of the story, stating that the 50 prisoners
were instead being moved to Nusakambangan.

"I had been asked by Cipinang Penitentiary to provide extra
security for a transfer of prisoners to Nusakambangan on
Wednesday. I provided the penitentiary with 25 Brimob officers,"
Mulyono told reporters at city police headquarters.

A source in the penitentiary said the incident was sparked by
the inclusion of three of the prisoners' leaders among the 50
being transferred. The three, identified as Tabah, Domy and Pur,
are touted icon figures who represent three different ethnic
groups in the penitentiary.

"The 50 prisoners were about to be transferred when suddenly
the minions of these three leaders attacked the guards in a bid
to foil the transfer," the source, who requested anonymity, told
reporters at the scene.

Donny was due to complete his sentence on April 2, the source
added.

Adi explained that the government had been relocating inmates
from the overcrowded Cipinang prison to other penitentiaries
nationwide.

He said the damage caused by the fire amounted to over Rp 250
million.

"All the files on these prisoners and other prison matters
have been burned. We have some copies and data, but that's it.
Four prison motorcycles, the computers and some cars have also
been burned. The administration building and auditorium have been
burned down, and the security posts have been severely damaged,"
Adi said. (ylt/bby)