QC jail riot traced to gangs’ intense basketball game

A BASKETBALL game that pitted the Batang City Jail (BCJ) gang against the Sigue-Sigue Commando boys sparked the riot that hurt at least 14 detainees at the Quezon City jail Thursday night, officials said.

“The commotion was caused by the game. There was probably betting involved and they lost their cool because of allegations of cheating,” said Insp. Aris Villaester, spokesperson of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-Metro Manila.

“That’s the primary angle we’ve got based on interviews with the inmates, but the investigation is still going on,” Villaester told the Inquirer on Friday.

Twelve of the inmates who were hurt were from Commando and two were from the BCJ, according to the warden, Supt. Randel Latoza.

The inmates mostly sustained bruises but one Commando member had to be brought to a hospital for a cut in the left arm.

Latoza said members of the BCJ started the fight and both gangs ended up hurling plates, chairs and stoves, among other objects, at each other. Earlier reports said darts and arrows also flew.

The jail has security cameras but they have no recording capability, according to the warden. “That’s why we’re requesting better cameras from the city government.”

The gang war lasted for about six minutes, stopping only after a SWAT team fired warning shots using rubber bullets,

Latoza said.

The Quezon City jail currently holds a total of 3,100 inmates though it was designed for only 800, Latoza noted.

Jail visits were temporarily suspended with the investigation still in progress on Friday.