ALBAWABA - Vietnamese authorities are on the lookout for nearly a hundred drug users who ran away from a crowded state-run rehabilitation facility in the Mekong Delta region, as reported by state media on Monday.
With over 30,000 people undergoing compulsory drug treatment in such facilities across the country, the escapees were part of a larger group under mandatory rehabilitation, some coerced to stay up to two years.
The overcrowded and overloaded rehabilitation centers often subject detainees to challenging treatment methods like immediate cessation of drug use and solitary confinement for rule infractions.
Following an internal disagreement, around 191 individuals broke out of a center in Soc Trang city on Saturday night, with 94 being recaptured by Monday morning, leaving approximately a hundred still at large, according to Cong An Nhan Dan newspaper.
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The escaped drug users shattered dormitory doors, scaled iron fences, and even created an exit through a wall, causing injuries to security personnel during the chaotic incident.
Reports indicated large deficiencies in the facility's infrastructure and manpower, showing the strain faced by the relatively small number of guards overseeing a vast population of over 460 drug addicts.
While Vietnam is exploring alternative, community-based treatment approaches to address criticisms of the rehabilitation system, traditional centers remain the predominant mode of intervention.
Despite widespread backing by the government and the populace, addiction experts caution that these facilities have high relapse rates and insufficient resources to support effective recovery.
Citing conditions in numerous centers, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs identified a pressing need for improved infrastructure to better address the complex challenges associated with drug rehabilitation.
