Prisoners make fiery jailbreak

UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi: About 100 convicts escaped after setting fire to Gunung Sari Penitentiary and Detention Center on Jl. Sultan Alauddin on Tuesday evening.

At least one fleeing prisoner was wounded when security personnel fired shots. He is now being treated at Bhayangkari Police Hospital. About 500 other prisoners and detainees were then transferred to the nearby headquarters of the Police Mobile Brigade unit.

A total of 10 fire engines were dispatched but the fire, which was set on the inside of the building, continued to rage until late Tuesday. Prison officials could not be reached for statements, but an estimated 80 percent of the facility was burned.

Meanwhile, Antara reported that 21 of the 49 prisoners who escaped on June 6 from the Mataram Penitentiary in Mataram, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, remain at large.

The news agency quoted the head of the justice ministry office, Husaini Kadir, as saying here that 11 prison officials were demoted and their salaries cut because of the incident. (27)