Prisoners escape in daring jailbreak
Prisoners escape in daring jailbreak
MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Police opened fire on 53
inmates attempting to escape from the Gunung Sari penitentiary
here in the early hours of Sunday morning, injuring five of them.
Another nine inmates were wounded in the operation to
recapture the escapees. One of them, Jaree, fractured his spine
after falling from a coconut tree.
As of dusk, police had recaptured 20 prisoners, who had
escaped by pushing over a wall under reconstruction following a
fire that had preceded a previous jailbreak in August last year.
South Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Mudji Sutrisno said
after his visit to the jail that he had ordered his force to
tighten security in the penitentiary's vicinity and the town's
southern borders with Gowa and Maros.
"We have warned people to be careful of strangers. We also
have asked the families of the inmates to cooperate with us, by
telling us as soon as they spot the escapees," Mudji said.
Police from the Mobile Brigade unit were deployed to secure
the area within a radius of 10 kilometers of the prison. Nearby
residents were suggested to step up their community night
patrols.
Mudji said the prisoners' disappointment with the wardens over
discriminative behavior triggered the jailbreak. There were only
14 wardens watching over 250 inmates on the day of the break.
An on-duty warden, Samsir H. Azis, told The Jakarta Post that
guards had left a cell block unlocked following threats from a
group of inmates on Saturday.
"We fulfilled their request because many of the convicts carry
sharp weapons," Samsir told the Post.
The prisoners fled the jail through the north gate without
much trouble, Samsir said.
Chief warden Sukartono denied his men's involvement in the
escape, blaming instead the prison's poor condition as a result
of last year's jailbreak.
Data from Tamalate Police station reveal that the escapees
include Bado and Arman, who are both serving life sentences. Most
of the inmates who escaped had been imprisoned several times for
murders, assaults and robberies. (27/edt)
MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): Police opened fire on 53
inmates attempting to escape from the Gunung Sari penitentiary
here in the early hours of Sunday morning, injuring five of them.
Another nine inmates were wounded in the operation to
recapture the escapees. One of them, Jaree, fractured his spine
after falling from a coconut tree.
As of dusk, police had recaptured 20 prisoners, who had
escaped by pushing over a wall under reconstruction following a
fire that had preceded a previous jailbreak in August last year.
South Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Mudji Sutrisno said
after his visit to the jail that he had ordered his force to
tighten security in the penitentiary's vicinity and the town's
southern borders with Gowa and Maros.
"We have warned people to be careful of strangers. We also
have asked the families of the inmates to cooperate with us, by
telling us as soon as they spot the escapees," Mudji said.
Police from the Mobile Brigade unit were deployed to secure
the area within a radius of 10 kilometers of the prison. Nearby
residents were suggested to step up their community night
patrols.
Mudji said the prisoners' disappointment with the wardens over
discriminative behavior triggered the jailbreak. There were only
14 wardens watching over 250 inmates on the day of the break.
An on-duty warden, Samsir H. Azis, told The Jakarta Post that
guards had left a cell block unlocked following threats from a
group of inmates on Saturday.
"We fulfilled their request because many of the convicts carry
sharp weapons," Samsir told the Post.
The prisoners fled the jail through the north gate without
much trouble, Samsir said.
Chief warden Sukartono denied his men's involvement in the
escape, blaming instead the prison's poor condition as a result
of last year's jailbreak.
Data from Tamalate Police station reveal that the escapees
include Bado and Arman, who are both serving life sentences. Most
of the inmates who escaped had been imprisoned several times for
murders, assaults and robberies. (27/edt)