Police to grill guards over Batam jailbreak

Fadli and Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Batam/Pekanbaru

Police here said on Monday that they will soon question six on- duty warders blamed for the breakout of 52 prisoners from an overcrowded jail on the industrial island of Batam, Riau province.

"The escape of the prisoners is the responsibility of the warders, not us," Barelang Police chief Sr. Comr. Suhartono told The Jakarta Post in Batam.

The jailbreak occurred at around 3 a.m on Sunday at the prison, which is adjacent to Suhartono's police office.

He said police detectives will summon the six warders for questioning over the startling escape.

Suhartono did not rule out the possibility of also questioning head of the Batam prison Rida Mulyadi.

"Our task is to help search for the escapees. But there should be no misperception that we are responsible for the jailbreak because they are not detainees but convicted prisoners," he said.

Mulyadi refused to comment on the incident. "I am drafting a report on the inmate's escape. Don't interview me before that is completed."

The 52 inmates -- all charged in drug dealing cases -- escaped by sawing through the iron bars of their cells and attacking guards.

However, at least 11 of the escapees (not 16 as reported by the Post on Monday) were captured later on the same day, Riau Police chief Deddy S. Komaruddin said.

Four of them were shot while trying to resist arrest, he added.

Deddy said two warders -- Ustad and Amir Ginting -- were beaten up by the escaping inmates and have been hospitalized.

Security at the Batam airport and seaports -- as well as other possible points of escape from the island -- has been tightened.

"We have deployed all forces, including Brimob (Mobile Brigade) personnel, to track down the 41 escapees," Deddy said.

He said that the escapees were probably hiding in illegally erected houses across Batam.

Deddy expressed concern over the conditions in the prison, which is occupied by at least 509 prisoners but was only built to accommodate 220 maximum.

Head of the Batam authority administration Ismeth Abdullah indicated that the jailbreak might have been prevented.

He said his office had allocated two hectares of land in the Simpang Tembersi area in Batam to build another prison but added that the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights had not responded.

The 52 jailbreakers were serving sentences of between one and eight years. Only two of the escaped prisoners -- Iwan and Agam -- were still awaiting trial on charges of possessing 230 kilograms of marijuana.