During the riot, around 500 inmates fled from their cells at the Class-III penitentiary in Hinai, Langkat regency, on Thursday, though 98 of them returned to the correctional facility after police had dispatched personnel in pursuit of the convicts.

North Sumatra Police chief Insp. Gen. Agus Andrianto said he had instructed police personnel to hunt down the remaining prisoners, particularly along the border of North Sumatra and Aceh.

Agus called on the prisoners who were still on the run to surrender and return to the penitentiary immediately to complete their respective prison sentences.

“It’s better [for the convicts] to turn themselves in rather than regret it in the future […]. Running away will not solve anything, it will instead cause new trouble,” Agus said on Friday.

When asked how police would handle the inmates that refused to surrender, Agus only said the officers knew what to do.

Overcrowding and understaffing have been blamed for making prisons in the country prone to drug trafficking and riots.

In a separate incident on May 11, a riot broke out at the Siak Sri Indrapura Penitentiary in Riau following a drug raid by the prison authority. Several inmates tried to escape and set fire to the guards’ office.

The riot in Langkat, which broke out on Thursday afternoon, saw dozens of inmates damage the penitentiary that held about 1,635 prisoners, with some of them setting fire to vehicles owned by prison guards.

Aulia, a witness to the incident, told The Jakarta Post that hundreds of inmates had made their escape after seizing control of the building at around 2 p.m., with most of them running in the direction of Aceh.

While a police investigation into the cause of the riot is ongoing, one inmate, identified as GB, claimed it had been triggered by torture allegedly committed by prison guards against an inmate after a change of shift.

GB told reporters that a prison guard identified as AT allegedly tortured Ajo, an inmate, on the second floor, which was “suspected to be a place for torturing prisoners”. Other inmates got angry at the news of the alleged violence.

Sardi, an officer at the penitentiary, rejected the allegation that torture had taken place, saying the guards had only apprehended a prisoner who was found to be in possession of drugs before the riot broke out.

Military personnel had been deployed for backup after some inmates had attacked personnel of the Police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob), who were handling the riot, Marine Corps 8th Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Danang Ari Setiawan said.

At least 250 Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel from the Langkat Military District, the Marine Corps 8th Infantry Battalion and 100th Infantry Raider Battalion had been deployed, he said, adding that they were on standby to secure the area.

“[Thank God] we were able to restore the situation through a persuasive approach,” Danang said. “The situation is now under control.”

House Speaker Bambang Soesatyo has called on the government to evaluate the country’s penitentiary system after the second riot within a week.

“We call on the Ministry of Law and Human Rights through its Corrections Directorate General to thoroughly evaluate the penitentiary system in terms of its management and surveillance,” he said in a statement on Friday.

Bambang attributed the riots to overcrowding often found at prisons in the country.

“The overcrowding faced by penitentiaries and prisons often lead to riots,” Bambang said. (ars)

Popular

Is Indonesia really ready to embrace dual citizenship?

Palm oil plantation-less mills lead to increase deforestation

Prabowo inaugurates construction of Majapahit palace replica