Escapee from burning Antipolo City Jail surrenders

SAN PEDRO CITY – An inmate who escaped during a fire that struck Antipolo City Jail on Thursday night, surrendered to authorities Friday, police said.

Michael Zymon Dig, who was jailed for two counts of robbery, turned himself in at around 10:30 a.m. Friday, said Supt. Villafor Bannawagan, Antipolo City police chief.

All 1,669 inmates at the Antipolo City Jail and the 300 detained at the Antipolo City police detention cell are now accounted for. The police detention cell is located at the city jail building.

Dig, along with 30 other inmates, escaped after the fire broke out at about 8 p.m. The fire was put out about an hour later. Fire investigators said the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring.

READ: 84-year-old detainee killed in Antipolo jail fire; 1 escapes

Police said the 29 other inmates who escaped with Dig were immediately recaptured. Police said the inmates tried to escape as they were rushing 23 injured inmates to the hospital.

One detainee, Organo Cesar, 84, died on arrival at the hospital after complaining of breathing difficulty.

Meanwhile, five of the 23 injured detainees are still at a hospital as of 11 a.m., according to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

The BJMP also denied earlier reports that there was a mass jailbreak during the fire that struck the Antipolo City Jail.

“We would like to assure the public that all of the detainees at Antipolo City Jail were locked inside their cells contrary to information of mass escape circulating in social media,” it said.

According to the BJMP, jail cells damaged by the blaze are now being repaired while the inmates were temporarily transferred to the Cainta Municipal Jail and to the Cardona Municipal Jail. /muf