Drug users stage breakout from rehab center…again

• Drug users stage massive breakout from rehab center
• Witnesses describe moment 450 drug users escaped rehab centre
• Seven officers suspended after escape of over 400 patients from rehab

On May 13, patients smashed through walls, doors and windows to escape. More than 80 of them successfully made it out, but most have been recaptured since then.

“Almost all the patients who escaped are new and are not used to living in a rehab center. The center will improve the living conditions and service quality as well as reinforce the fences to prevent patients from escaping,” said deputy director of the province's Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. 

The rehab center. Photo by Xuan Thang

On April 13, more than 400 patients destroyed doors, walls and the main gate to escape, using blankets to climb over two 1.5m barbed wire fences. Some patients broke into people’s houses to steal clothes and other personal belongings. Following the escape, seven top officials and officers at the drug rehabilitation center were suspended.

The Labor Education and Vocational Training Center houses over 600 patients. It is protected by two rows of 3m high walls covered in zinc at the top. On the outside, it is surrounded by two 1.5m barbed wire fences.