Jakarta, Indonesia. After one of the worlds largest jail breaks ever, Indonesia starts the process of investigating the how and why, so many were able to simply walk away from an Indonesian jail break straight out of Hollywood.
Indonesia’s prison ministry has launched an investigation into accusations of mistreatment by prison guards, after around 350 inmates broke out of an overcrowded jail on Sumatra island in Riau Province last week, an official said on Monday.
Three days after the mass escape, 151 prisoners were still being pursued by law enforcement authorities and 197 have been recaptured, Ferdinand Siagian, the head of Riau Province’s Law Ministry office, which oversees Pekanbaru prison announced.
“We are carrying out a deep investigation into the serving officers,” said Siagian, adding that the warden of the prison “had been transferred to a different post.”
Before the massive jail break, prisoners had complained about mistreatment, accusing some guards of violence and corruption, Siagian told reporters.
Pekanbaru inmates families also said guards had extorted money from prisoners and their families to ensure they had better conditions or to speed up visits, according to media.
The location of the prison houses about 1,800 prisoners, but was only meant to hold up to 700 inmates, a police spokesman said in response to inquiries about the largest prison escape in recent Indonesian history.