Two inmates hospitalized in Cipinang prison brawl
Two inmates hospitalized in Cipinang prison brawl
JAKARTA (JP): Two inmates remained in hospital at the
Kramatjati Police Hospital on Saturday, after sustaining injuries
during a brawl that erupted in the Cipinang penitentiary, East
Jakarta, a day earlier.
"They remain in hospital due to their injuries, but everything
is under control here," City Police spokesman Snr. Comr. Anton
Bachrul Alam told reporters.
A brawl among prisoners broke out on Friday at 9 p.m., which
left six people injured sustaining lacerations to their head and
body. They were sent to the Kramatjati Hospital and where later
that evening taken back to the penitentiary after receiving
medical treatment.
Cipinang has had a number of brawls in the last few months
among prisoners, with some of the inmates even managing to
escape.
The latest incident took place following a personal dispute
between two inmates, Gordon Siagian and Ray. The two had already
been fighting when penitentiary officers managed to calm them
down.
But soon afterwards, another fight erupted, this time
involving dozens of inmates who were armed with knives and other
sharp weapons.
Eighteen policemen from the Jatinegara police precinct, led by
the deputy chief of the precinct Comr. Sutarman, were soon
deployed to the jail house to handle the situation.
"When we arrived the fray was over," Sutarman was quoted by
Antara as saying, adding that they could not find any sharp
weapons.
Makmun, a warden at the Cipinang penitentiary, told The
Jakarta Post on Saturday that no additional guards had been
deployed in efforts to tighten security in the prison.
"In one shift, there are still about 40 people guarding the
place. The number remains the same," he said.
He admitted that many inmates were still in possession of
sharp weapons despite the recent joint raid with police and a
program offering remission for inmates in exchange of their
weapons.
"They could hide them in any place," he commented.
Asked about the plan to install a metal detector at the prison
house, he said: "Oh really? I know nothing about it."
Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said
on Aug. 27 that a metal detector and an X-ray scanner would be
installed in the penitentiary this month to make the jail more
secure. The devices would be installed to eliminate the smuggling
of weapons and drugs into the prison.
Cipinang houses over 2,200 prisoners even though it only has a
capacity to hold 1,789 prisoners.
Yusril had also said that the government would place more
personnel to guard the prison and that the police would deploy
some Mobile Brigade teams. (emf/sim)