Banjir Ambarita, Jayapura – Several correctional officers were injured when dozens of prisoners at Abepura Penitentiary rioted on Sunday in revenge for a previous incident in which officers beat up an inmate and took his money.

Papua Justice and Human Rights Office head Nazaruddin Burnas said on Monday that officers had found Rp 9.8 million ($1,080) during a routine inspection of the inmate's cell, in direct violation of prison rules.

"The prisoner wouldn't say where he got the money, so the officers beat him up," he said. "That, plus the seizure of the money, riled up the rest of the inmates."

Nazaruddin said his office was investigating reports that the money was intended for bribes for correctional officers to help prisoners escape.

Abepura Penitentiary has a wretched security record, with mass breakouts occurring regularly at the facility. In May, 18 inmates escaped during a protest by correctional guards over the sacking of then chief warden Antonius Ayorbaba.

In June, 26 prisoners broke out by scaling down a prison wall using a rope strung together with bedsheets. Only two inmates from those breakouts have been recaptured.

"Several correctional guards refuse to cooperate with the new warden, leading to gross derelictions of duty that have left security at the penitentiary in an appalling state," Nazaruddin said after the June breakout.

He said he would replace some of the officers with new graduates from the Academy of Correctional Sciences.