TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A total of 350 security personnel from the Armed Forces and police have been deployed to restore security at the Labuhan Ruku Penitentiary. The security personnel came from the Batubara Sector Police, Lubuk Pakam Resort Police, and the local army’s military district command.
Indonesian police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie said the police had continued to estimate the degree of damage and the total financial losses inflicted in the incident. “The police are also checking the possibility of missing or stolen equipment at the facility,” he said at his office on Monday, August 19, 2013.
Ronny said the situation at the prison in general was normalizing and restoration measures were still in progress. “The wardens and prisoners are still awaiting the results of the meeting between Batubara police and the prison management,” he said.
The Labuhan Ruku second-class penitentiary in Batubara regency, North Sumatera, caught fire on Sunday afternoon, August 18, 2013. Several parts of the prison, which is located in Pahang hamlet, Talawi sub-district, were burnt to the ground.
A number of prisoners escaped after attacking the prison guards at around 17.00 local time, stirring up a riot inside the prison that led to arson and destruction of facilities.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin has yet to clarify the cause of the riot and fire at the Labuhan Ruku prison. “Still under investigation,” he said at the Jakarta Convention Center on Monday, August 19, 2013.
Based on the latest reports, Amir said, a total of 15 prisoners tried to escape amid the uprising through the holes on the prison’s damaged walls. “But we have recaptured 11 prisoners,” he said, but refused to give further comments on the escaping prisoners. “I haven’t got the details yet."
Ronny said the riot and the arson broke out following the transfer of 49 inmates from Lubuk Pakam prison in Deli Serdang regency to Labuhan Ruku prison on August 17, 2013.
Ronny said Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo had instructed all regional police chiefs to proactively direct their subordinates to the sector levels and coordinate with prison heads, regional governments, and regional heads to keep such events from recurring.
“They’ve been asked to think of ways to prevent such riots and keep them from spreading,” Ronny said.
FRANSISCO ROSARIANS
