Ghananian convict flees from jail

JAKARTA (JP): A convicted Ghananian national escaped from Central Jakarta's Salemba Penitentiary at dawn Tuesday.

Ibrahim Saebu, who was jailed for 20 years by the Central Jakarta District Court last year for possession and trafficking of heroin, had lodged an appeal with the Jakarta High Court.

However, guards at the penitentiary were unable to find him early morning Tuesday moments after they check on him in his cell.

According to a source at the jail, Saebu "possessed a magic power that enabled him to make the guards unaware of his escape from the strictly guarded cellblock".

"Theoretically no one could escape from such an isolated quarter. All doors of the block have double locks because most of the inmates there are serving long jail terms for involvement in major crimes.

"Among them are foreigners who smuggled drugs, and local murderers," the source said.

He also said anyone who wanted to enter or leave the cellblock had to pass through two doors.

"But somehow, Saebu managed to escape either by the doors, which were later found damaged, or through the ceiling which was damaged too," he added.

The source said that the City Police headquarters and the Ministry of Justice were investigating the case.

"This is the first jailbreak from the isolation cellblock since 1987. I guess we were just unlucky, since we conduct very strict and thorough security checks from time to time," he said.

Saebu was incarcerated there on Dec. 26, 1996. Neither family nor friends had visited him.

When he was under police guard in Bali early last year, he also managed to escape and was later rearrested. (12)