Prisoners riot after inmate hit

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
INMATES damaged kitchen facilities in a riot at a jail after a prisoner was punched by a warder.
The commander of the Boram jail in East Sepik, Inspector Joseph Imini, estimated the damage to be around K30,000.
He said the warder punched the inmate who seemed to be drunk after returning from duties outside the prison.
“The rest of the prisoners retaliated by fighting with the officers,” he said.
Imini said inmate, classified as low-risk, are assigned duties outside prison.
“I was with the operations officer and we saw him staggering into the compound assisted by a fellow prisoner,” Imini said.
“So I told the duty officer to take him into the office and question him.
“The officer took him up to the office and interrogated him. However, the prisoner was not cooperating.
“So the officer punched him in full view of other prisoners.
“They rampaged through the prison by throwing stones, smashing fly wires and removing timber from the kitchen to use as weapons against us.
“They also burnt down the kitchen but we managed to put out the fire.”
He said a police vehicle which arrived to drop off detainees was also stoned.
Police later helped calm down the inmates.
Imini said they conducted an investigation and handed over to police 17 inmates to be charged for the damage caused.