Angry at not being allowed to use drugs, more than 120 addicts at a rehab center in Binh Phuoc province smashed the center’s wall yesterday evening and escaped. About 70 of them have been captured this morning. The incident occurred at 9:15 pm Friday at the Binh Phuoc Province Detoxification, Education and Social Labor Center when these drug addicts broke into small groups and used wooden sticks and pieces of rocks to break up the wall to make their way out in the dark. They became angry after the center’s management rejected their request to use drugs, police said. After having dinner at 5 pm, these addicts demanded that they be allowed to use drugs but the managers turned down their request and informed the situation to police in Chon Thanh District, where the center is located. Despite the presence of a dozen police officers who were sent to the center, the addicts continued asking for drugs. At 8 pm, more than 20 policemen arrived but they could not calm down an angry crowd who escaped about an hour later. The police chased after the escapees but only managed to seize more than 10 of them at 11 pm.
The police were coordinating with the center to hunt for the others and by 10 am today they had captured more than 70 of them. The center was home to about 290 drug addicts, including 34 women, police said.