the syringe with the drug in hand on the floor
(COLOMBO) – At least 40 inmates at a State-operated drug rehabilitation centre escaped on Wednesday night following a clash between rival groups, a senior official said on Thursday.
Wednesday’s breakout comes barely 12 days after some 60 inmates escaped from the same centre situated in Kandakadu some 176 kilometres north of the commercial capital of Colombo.
“Most of the inmates that escaped during the earlier breakout on January 12 however were later persuaded to surrender to the authorities.
Some 25 inmates also sustained injuries between rival gangs on the January 12 incident”, the official said.
The hopelessly overcrowded rehabilitation centre houses thousands of drug addicts sent by the courts and is known to have poor medical and other facilities and has been criticized by rights groups and others.
