06 May,2017 08:46 AM IST | Jakarta | Agencies
About 200 prisoners in Indonesia broke out of an overcrowded jail on Sumatra island on Friday, tearing down a gate in the complex after being allowed out of their cells to pray, officials said
Plain-clothed police recapture an escaped inmate. Pic/AFP
About 200 prisoners in Indonesia broke out of an overcrowded jail on Sumatra island on Friday, tearing down a gate in the complex after being allowed out of their cells to pray, officials said.
Inmates had complained about their treatment in the jail in Pekanbaru and accused some guards of being violent, said Ferdinand Siagian, head of the regional office of the Law Ministry. "This triggered the incident before Friday prayers," Siagian said.
Guntur Aryo Tejo, a Riau police spokesman, said 77 inmates had been recaptured. TV footage showed officers in black riot gear holding one man in a headlock. The jail has a capacity of 700 inmates but houses about 1,800 prisoners, Tejo noted.
