12 Nov 2012

Indonesian escapee used burka as disguise

11:07 pm on 12 November 2012

Police in Indonesia are assigning extra women officers to prisons after a male terrorist escaped, wearing a burka as a disguise.

The prisoner walked free by donning the Islamic burka dress.

Police say Roki Aprisdianto was serving a six-year jail sentence after being arrested late last year for attacks on police posts and churches in Solo, in central Java.

Aprisdianto slipped on the burka - which covers from the head to ankles - and then walked out with a group of women who had been visiting inmates, the ABC reports.

To stop further cases of criminals cross-dressing to escape, Jakarta police are assigning women officers to prisons and detention centres to check all female visitors.