Official says no inmates escaped

PADANG, West Sumatra: Head of the provincial office of the Ministry of Justice, Soemoeljo, denied reports that 20 prisoners escaped when the Muaro Penitentiary here was set on fire on Wednesday.

"No one escaped. Media reports that there are 20 fugitives are wrong ... one of the officials here made a mistake in his announcement," Soemoeljo said on Thursday.

Padang Police chief Lt. Col. Suhardi Sigit supported Soemoeljo's remark.

"Everybody panicked during the fire. Only later on we counted all of the prisoners and they are all here," Suhardi said of the facility, which houses 263 inmates.

Police have detained 10 inmates allegedly involved in the arson that has been described as a jailbreak attempt.

Separately in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, police are still searching for 53 convicts who escaped after some of them set fire to the Gunung Sari penitentiary and detention center on Tuesday.

"I regret the incident," said Tahir Abdullah, director general of penitentiaries and detention centers. (27/28/edt)