Indian, 3 others dig their way out of jail

THE FOREIGNERS WERE SERVING SENTENCES FOR DIFFERENT CRIMES, FROM IMMIGRATION RULES VIOLATION TO DRUG CRIMES, WIDJAJA SAID

DENPASAR: Indonesian police have launched a search for four foreign inmates who escaped from an overcrowded prison on the resort island of Bali by crawling through a narrow tunnel dug under the walls, authorities said on Monday.

“The tunnel is about 12 metres long and we suspect it took more than a week to build,” the head of Kerobokan prison Tony Nainggolan said, adding that police believed the men were still in Bali and not far from the prison.

The four are Australian Shaun Edward Davidson, Bulgarian Dimitar Nikolov Iliev, Indian Sayed Muhammad Said and Malaysian Tee Kok King, Bali police spokesman Hengky Widjaja said. The tunnel had a diameter of 50 x 75 cm (20 x 30 inches) and was found filled with water on Monday morning, Widjaja said.

Kerobokan houses a fairly large number of foreign inmates, given Bali’s status as an international holiday destination and transport hub.

The men were serving sentences for different crimes, from immigration rules violation to drug crimes, Widjaja said. The 31-year-old Indian Said had 12 years and 3 months to serve for drug offences. The head of the prison said that 10 guards were on duty on Sunday night.REUTERS