Overcrowding caused massive jail break, Indonesia law ministry says

The law ministry in Indonesia has blamed overcrowding for the cause of a massive jail break which witnessed more than 100 prisoners who are still at large escape from an island prison in Sumatra.

According to Ferdinand Siagian, from the region’s law ministry, the jail had only five or six guards on duty for nearly 1,900 inmates, in a prison supposed to hold only 300.

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The prison break was aired on local TV stations showing dozens of men rushing out of a side entrance at Sialang Bungkuk prison in Pekanbaru City, with no sign of anyone following them.

About 200 people escaped after being let out of cells for Friday prayers with reports claiming that more than a third were subsequently recaptured.

The police have set up roadblocks around the city and are looking for the other escapees even as hundreds of police officers and military personnel have now been deployed to guard the prison.

 

 

 

 

 

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