Prisoner shot in Tanjung Balai

MEDAN, North Sumatra: The head of the provincial office of the justice and human rights ministry, Lukas Tarigan, has yet to receive an official report on the recent shooting of Shahren Margolang, 36, a prisoner in Tanjung Balai, some 250 kilometers southeast of the city.

Margolang who was shot by two gunmen in front of his home in Sijambi Village, Datok Bandjar subdistrict, Tanjung Balai, was still receiving intensive medical treatment for a number of gunshot wounds at the clinic inside the Pulau Simardan Penitentiary.

Tarigan said he heard about the shooting from the local press.

Asked about Margolang being outside the prison, Tarigan said the prisoner had received permission to go out to help him assimilate back into society.

According to his permit, Margolang was allowed to work from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. outside the prison.

Margolang has served 14 months of a 24-month jail sentence imposed on him by the Tanjung Balai District Court for assaulting M. Kosasih and ransacking a house belonging to Felix Wijaya in the city. -- Antara