A police officer escorts a drug addict back to Sóc Trăng Drug Addiction Treatment Centre in the Mekong Delta province of Sóc Trăng.  — VNA/VNS Photo Trung Hiếu

A total of 200 people fled the centre on Saturday afternoon after a fight broke out and guards were distracted.

As of Monday morning, 103 of those who escaped have been accounted for and returned to the Sóc Trăng Drug Addiction Treatment Centre.

Nguyễn Văn Phước, deputy director of the centre, said they are still looking for the 97 people who remain at large.

One addict, who lives Phú Mỹ Commune, Mỹ Tú District, said his parents told him he must return to continue is treatment.

Deputy director Phước said the centre treats more than 460 drug addicts now but has just 60 staff.

He said it needed more staff and equipment to ensure security in the future. — VNS