Over 100 inmates escape from Indonesian prison

Over 100 inmates have escaped from a prison designated for drug convicts on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island after a riot broke out there, a prison official said on Thursday.
“Prisoners at Langkat prison in North Sumatra smashed doors and set fire on the building after one of them was found in possession of crystal methamphetamine,’’ national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said.
Prasetyo said the situation was now under control and the prison was being guarded by police and soldiers, adding that there were a total of 1,634 inmates in the facility.
The Thursday’s jailbreak in Sumatra was the second in less than a week.
Over 150 inmates escaped from Siak prison in Riau province on Saturday during a riot that broke out after a guard hit one of the prisoners.
Indonesian prisons are chronically overcrowded, a situation worsened by the government’s war on drugs. (dpa/NAN)