Indonesian police launched an intense manhunt to recapture more than 100 prisoners after a group of inmates fled detention in Batam island — the second jailbreak in Indonesia in less than a week.
The latest escape occurred early Wednesday when 12 inmates — all awaiting trial on drug charges — beat two guards and a janitor before escaping from a state detention centre in Batam, which is located near Singapore, said police chief Brig Gen Endjang Sudrajat.
He said the group first hit the janitor and a warden with iron from a bed, then overpowered another guard before breaking window at warden’s office and fled.
Police launched a search across the island and have recaptured one inmate, Sudrajat said. The facility has a capacity of 250 but is currently holding 400 detainees.
Last Thursday, 212 prisoners, including nine terrorists, escaped from a prison in Medan on Sumatra after starting a deadly riot in which five people were killed. Some 103 of them have been recaptured or given themselves up to authorities.
“We are investigating whether the jailbreak in Medan inspired inmates here,” Sudrajat said.
The riot in Medan was believed to be triggered by a blackout that knocked out power to water pumps, leaving inmates a whole day without water in the facility that held 2,600 prisoners, nearly triple its normal capacity of 1,054.
Police are still tracking down the remaining 109 including four convicted terrorists, searching streets, markets, bus terminals, ports and homes of the escapees’ relatives.
