TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The provincial office of the Law and Human Right Service in Riau said it would investigate alleged illegal levies at a prison in the province.

The alleged illegal levies have caused clash between prisoners and prison guards at the Pekanbaru penitentiary resulting in the escape of hundreds of inmates on Friday.

"We are looking into alleged illegal levies in the Sialang prison," Head of the Riau provincial office of the Law and Human Right Service here Ferdinan Siagian said on Saturday.

Hundreds of the inmates of the Sialang Bungkuk prison fled on Friday after clash between the convicts and the prison guard.

Ferdinan said he was set to stamp out illegal levies from the prison. "We will look into it seriously."

The clash was caused by a number of factors mainly illegal levies demanded by the prison guards. The prison guards demanded a payment of up to Rp10 million for a more convenient room at the prison house. There is also a tariff to be paid for a visit to see the prisoners by their relatives, one of the fleeing prisoners who were caught later that day, said. "So far no one has openly protested the practice until some of the prisoners could stand it no more on Friday," he said.

Observers said overcapacity of prison contributed to the riot. The government has been aware of the condition and pledged to take the necessary step. Almost all prisons in the country house prisoners more than their capacity.

ANTARA