Drug inmates break out of rehab

2010-02-24 14:00

Hanoi - More than 100 inmates escaped from at a drug rehabilitation centre in southern Vietnam and police were searching for dozens still at large, state media reported on Wednesday.

The 103 patients took advantage of the chaos caused by a brawl between fellow inmates on Monday night to overpower guards and break through the fence at the facility in Pham Van Coi village, some 70km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper reported.

Police recaptured nearly 50 inmates, but were still searching for the others, the report said. Officials were not available for comment on Wednesday.

Patients at Vietnam's drug rehabilitation centres are often sent by their families or by the government. Once there they must stay for two years.

This mandatory time requirement has led to more than a dozen breakouts since 2001. Nearly 1 200 inmates escaped from the same centre in 2005.

Officials have said that the rehabilitation programmes - which combine education, communist ideology and physical labour - have a high failure rate, with more than 90% of patients relapsing within five years.

- SAPA