Notorious Bali jail to remain in lockdown

22 Feb 2012, 6:44 pm   -   Source: AAP
The rioting reportedly started late on Tuesday night. (Bali Post)

The rioting reportedly started late on Tuesday night. (Bali Post)

Bali's Kerobokan jail is expected to remain in lockdown after a riot in which inmates took control of the prison for more than seven hours.

Security is tight at Bali's notorious Kerobokan jail in the wake of a riot in which inmates took control of the prison and set offices alight just metres from the compound's front gate.

About 100 heavily armed police entered the jail early on Wednesday morning to put down the riot, which erupted after days of simmering tensions following a similar outbreak of violence at the weekend.

Three prisoners were taken to hospital after being shot in the leg with rubber bullets when riot police stormed the jail, but Bali Police chief Totoy Herawan Indra said there were no serious injuries.

"Three inmates were shot with rubber bullets and one security officer was wounded," Major-General Indra said.

No foreign prisoners were hurt and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra said it had confirmed that the 12 Australians held at the jail, including drug traffickers Schapelle Corby and members of the Bali Nine, were all safe.

None of the Australians were involved in the violence.

Major-General Indra said security at the jail had been ramped up, and a large contingent of armed police would patrol the inside of the prison for at least the next few days.

The riot broke out about 11pm on Tuesday night, with prisoners trashing cells and throwing stones at guards who were forced to retreat to the street outside the overcrowded jail which houses more than 1000 male and female inmates.

Some prisoners were able to gain access to the registration wing of the jail, within metres of the compound's front gate, where they set offices and furniture alight.

The registration wing was destroyed by fire.

The inmates were in charge of the inside of the jail for about seven hours with outgoing prison governor Siswanto describing the situation as "out of control".

However, prison authorities said the integrity of the jail's walls was never at risk and guards had been stationed around the perimeter to ensure there were no escapes.

Authorities were able to recover about 30 rifles, issued to security personnel, that were stored at the jail but a large amount of ammunition was destroyed by fire.

The jail, in a suburban area about a 30-minute drive from Bali's international airport, was built to hold just over 300 prisoners.

It now holds more than three times that number.

Siswanto's replacement as Kerobokan governor, Bowo Nariwono, who was in Jakarta with Siswanto when the riot broke out, told AAP on Wednesday that the prisoners behind the violence would face repercussions.

"Overcrowding was one of the causes of the riot, as was dissatisfaction among inmates," Nariwono said.

"They must realise, however, that they cannot force their will on us."

But a senior prison officer, who did not wish to be named, told AAP that "tensions had been rising" following the stabbing on Sunday of one prisoner by three inmates from a rival drug gang.

Police were called in at about 4pm on Sunday to quell a mob of prisoners that had attacked those believed to be responsible for the stabbing.

Tuesday night's violence comes after a string of incidents at Kerobokan including a riot last June following a raid to arrest an inmate suspected of running a drug operation from inside the prison.

In January this year, a prisoner was found dead in his cell, just one day after he was admitted.

He had been tortured by more than a dozen other inmates.

Major-General Indra said on Wednesday that hundreds of police and soldiers would remain on standby outside the jail as a precaution in the event of further violence.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube