Twelve inmates escape in jail break

Twelve inmates escaped from their cell at the Cempaka Putih police precinct jail in Central Jakarta at 2:15 a.m. on Tuesday after sawing off the bars of the jail’s bathroom vent bit by bit for around a week, city police said.

The escapees, all of whom shared the same cell, accounted for a third of the total number of the precinct’s detainees.

“The police found and apprehended two of the escapees, Suwardi and Agus Win Suprio, a few hours after their escape,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

Suwardi was arrested in Bekasi and Agus in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

The other ten, six of whom are drug suspects, are still at large. They have been identified as Toni Rahman, Agus Pian, Suprapto, Ibrahim, Andre Julius, Eko Prihatin, Aji Tri Mulyadi, Ocky Inka Haryadi, Harri, and Angga Herdiawan.

Police officers in the precinct only became aware of the breakout after a 17-year-old boy working at a Padang food stall behind the precinct, near the escape vent, reported it.

The boy, identified as Usup Suhendar, said that he had been tied and gagged by the escapees and was told to stay quiet.

The saw used in the breakout attempt was not found at the crime scene. Police only confiscated a pair of pliers, a size eight wrench, and three pieces of broken window bars as evidence.

Police found out during the questioning of the two arrested escapees that Ocky and Andre were the masterminds behind the escape.

Rikwanto said that Andre was a drug suspect while Ocky had been detained for vehicle theft.

“The Cempaka Putih precinct chief has formed several teams to track down the ten fugitives.
Searches will be conducted at houses of the fugitives’ family and friends, as well as at their favorite haunts,” he said.

Police investigations also found out that the saw used in the breakout was purportedly smuggled into the jail by Ocky’s wife during visiting hours on Ocky’s request, Rikwanto said.

The sawing was done every night after lights-out, alternately by Ocky and Andre. One sawed the bars while the other acted as a lookout to watch for approaching police officers. They opened the bathroom’s water faucets to drown out the sawing noise.

Both Ocky and Andre reportedly forced the other ten inmates to join in the escape plan.

The Jakarta Police internal affairs division on Tuesday was also questioning four police officers on duty at the precinct at the time of the incident.

“We are trying to find out whether they had implemented all standard operating procedures in the detainment center,” Rikwanto said, adding that the precinct chief would also be questioned soon.

“They can face ethical code penalties if we find negligence to be an issue in the case.” (mim)