About 30 inmates have escaped after a riot broke out Sunday at an overcrowded prison in western Indonesia that was set ablaze, AP cited an official as saying. The riot at the Labuhan Ruku facility in North Sumatra district of Batubara began Sunday afternoon after a group of inmates who were transferred from other prisons staged a protest due to the overcrowding, said prison official Wibowo Jokoharjono. He said others joined in the protest before it turned violent, leading to the beating of a prison warden. Two guards were held captive by the inmates. Jokoharjono said initial reports said about 30 inmates had escaped by climbing a prison wall. The prison has a capacity to house 300 inmates but is now sheltering about 800. -- SPA 19:21 LOCAL TIME 16:21 GMT تغريد
