BATAM, Indonesia — Indonesian police launched an intense manhunt Wednesday to recapture more than 100 prisoners after a group of inmates fled detention on Batam island — the second jailbreak in Indonesia in less than a week.
The latest escape occurred early Wednesday when 12 inmates — all awaiting trial on drug charges — beat two guards and a janitor before escaping from a state detention center on Batam, which is located near Singapore, said police chief Brig. Gen. Endjang Sudrajat.
He said the group first hit the janitor and a warden with an iron from a bed, then overpowered another guard before breaking a window in the warden's office and fleeing.
Police launched a search across the island and recaptured one inmate, Sudrajat said. The facility has a capacity of 250, but is currently holding 400 detainees.
Last Thursday, 212 prisoners, including nine terrorists, escaped from a prison in Medan on Sumatra island after starting a deadly riot in which five people were killed. Some 103 of them have been recaptured or given themselves up to authorities.
"We are investigating whether the jailbreak in Medan inspired inmates here," Sudrajat said.
The riot in Medan was believed to be triggered by a blackout that knocked out power to water pumps, leaving inmates a whole day without water in the facility that held 2,600 prisoners, nearly triple its normal capacity of 1,054.
Police are still tracking down the remaining 109, including four convicted terrorists, searching streets, markets, bus terminals, ports and homes of the escapees' relatives.
