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Medan prison enlists shaman to locate escaped inmate
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Suspected – Customs and Excise Office personnel and Kualanamu International Airport security officers foil an attempt to smuggle or shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine) into Medan, North Sumatra, recently. The suspect, a Malaysian citizen (standing, second left), claimed he worked with two inmates currently serving sentences at Tanjung Gusta prison. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
T
anjung Gusta Penitentiary in Medan, North Sumatra, has enlisted the services of a dukun (shaman) to locate a drug convict who escaped from the prison two weeks ago.
Jidin, a drug convict, escaped on April 19 after sawing through steel bars covering a bathroom air vent in his cell. Jidin had served three years of his 14-year sentence.
Tanjung Gusta Penitentiary warden Asep Syarifuddin said the enlistment of a shaman was merely to help authorities track down the escapee.
Asep claimed it was the first time in the prison sought a shaman’s help.
According to the shaman, Asep said, Jidin was currently in Aceh. The authorities, he said, had deployed several officers to Aceh to recapture the convict.
“There has been no result as yet,” said Asep, adding that he also requested help from the police to track down Jidin.
Asep said it was impossible to monitor all the inmates. “There are currently 3,709 convicts in Tanjung Gusta, while we only have 15 prison guards. This is very uneven,” said Asep, adding that 70 percent of the convicts in Tanjung Gusta were drug offenders. (ary)
