Three injured in jail brawl

JAKARTA (ANTARA): Three Cipinang prison inmates were injured in a brawl between two rival groups on Wednesday, two days after police conducted an intensive cell-to-cell search for weapons and dangerous objects inside the state penitentiary.

The injured prisoners were being treated at Kramatjati Police Hospital, said Jatinegara Police chief commissioner Supardi.

Faisal, one of the prisoners hospitalized, suffered head injuries, while the other two prisoners, Alfian and Yusuf, were injured in the shoulder and arm respectively.

Supardi said the situation at the prison was under control but the police had to fire warning shots and tear gas to restore order.

He said the brawl proved that a number of prisoners still had access to sharp weapons in spite of the search of inmates' cells on Monday.

"It seems the search was not done thoroughly enough," he said.

Monday's weapon search was conducted after two Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) bombing suspects escaped from the prison last Friday, taking with them a pistol and two hand grenades. One of the two escapees was eventually recaptured and confessed to police that the firearms had been sent to them by an accomplice outside the prison.