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BANGKOK, Jan 17 (AFP) - Fourteen youths escaped from a detention facility outside the Thai capital Thursday, police said, just days after rioting broke out at another juvenile centre in southern Surat Thani province.

Police said they were searching for the boys who broke out of the centre in Pathum Thani province, 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Bangkok, in the early hours of the morning.

It was the second recent break-out at the facility. Dozens of children ran away last year and were eventually brought back by their parents.

Juvenile detention centres have been in the headlines this week after hundreds of youths rioted at a centre in Surat Thani Monday night, smashing property and hurling molotov cocktails.

The riot, sparked by a protest over allegedly harsh rules at the centre, left dozens of youngsters and police injured.

Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana said he had asked authorities to investigate the causes of the riot, and whether staff at the centre had maltreated the children.

"They will receive justice if they are right and they will have action taken against them if they are wrong," he said.

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