Juvenile serving time on murder charge runs away from centre

AMMAN — Social Development Ministry officials on Wednesday said they are close to locating the whereabouts of a juvenile who ran away from a centre in a northern governorate on Tuesday.

The juvenile was serving time at the centre on charges of murder, Social Development Ministry Spokesperson Fawaz Ratrout told The Jordan Times.

Ratrout declined to reveal any further details regarding the incident, stressing that an “investigation is ongoing and the ministry will issue a statement soon regarding this incident.”

“We are close to finding where the juvenile is and he will be returned to the centre very soon,” a second source at the ministry said.

“We are currently investigating the incident and anyone found responsible will be dealt with based on the ministry’s rules and regulations,” the source told The Jordan Times.

Meanwhile, Ratrout said the search is continuing for four juveniles who ran away last month from the Usama Bin Zeid Juvenile Centre in Ruseifa District, some 12km east of Amman.

“We are still searching for the four and are hopeful that we will find them,” Ratrout said.

The four were among seven juveniles who left the centre without coordinating with the centre’s officials; three of them returned last week.

The seven were serving time on charges of uprooting trees and robbery, Ratrout said at the time.

“Our centres are open to the local community and juveniles can go to certain places after coordinating with the centre’s officials,” he added.

Juveniles are allowed to leave the centre temporarily to attend major family events, go to hospital and medical centres, attend classes at vocational training centres, or go on trips, according to the ministry spokesperson.