Ministry Official Admits Overcrowding at Tangerang Prison
Translator
Ririe Ranggasari
Editor
Laila Afifa
Rabu, 8 September 2021 20:54 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Rika Aprianti, head of PR and protocol at the Law and Human Rights Ministry, said that the Tangerang Prison was overcrowded. The prison currently houses 1,400 inmates more than its maximum capacity.
"There are currently 2,072 inmates in Tangerang Class 1 Prison, which has a maximum capacity of only 600. The overcapacity rate is 250 percent," Rika said in a written statement, Wednesday, September 8.
One of the prison blocks caught fire early this morning, leading to the death of 41 inmates. Almost all of them, Rika said, were drugs and narcotics prisoners. "Forty narcotics convicts and one terrorism convict," she said.
Jakarta Metro Police Chief Insp. Gene. Mohammad Fadil Imran said that the fire in Tangerang Prison occurred at 01:45 this morning. Firefighters took about two hours before they could extinguish the fire.
Fadil said that the fire broke in Block C2, which is inhabited by 122 inmates. The incident killed 41 inmates, heavily injured eight with burns, while 72 others suffered minor injuries.
"We immediately treated the injured victims, took them to the Sitanala Hospital and Tangerang District Hospital. We took the deceased victims [there] as well," Fadil said.
Read: Tangerang Prison Fire; DPR Member Holds Minister Yasonna Laoly Responsible
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