Six burn to death in Medan prison riot

Six burn to death in Medan prison riot

JAKARTA (JP): Six inmates burned to death in a locked cell as
riots broke out in Tanjung Kusta Prison, Medan, North Sumatra,
yesterday.

The prison director, Poniman, said that the riot, which
involved 600 inmates, was still under police investigation.

"There is no proof that the fracas was planned," he said, as
quoted by Antara news agency.

Sources close to the prison said that the riot erupted as six
inmates, known as the most notorious to their fellow inmates,
attacked each other without reason on Thursday.

To punish the attackers, hundreds of prisoners who had
witnessed the assault, grabbed the men at 8 am yesterday morning
and threw them into a cell.

They then also threw mattress and pillows inside, set them on
fire and locked the cell doors. The six men, whose ages ranged
between 29 and 44 years, were burnt alive.

Two of them, including the gang leader, were serving 13 and 20
years jail terms respectively for their involvement in an armed
separatist rebellion in Aceh.

Security officers, who arrived later, were too late in their
effort to deal with this matter. They managed to retrieve the
charred remains from the cell only five hours later, the news
agency said. (tis)