Escaped inmates caught after leaving a brothel

After 13 days on the run, two inmates and a prison officer who escaped from the Taichung Detention Center on May 7 were apprehended late Friday night in Changhua County.

Police arrested the three soon after they left a brothel in Yuanlin (員林) township.

Death row inmate Huang Chu-wang (黃主旺) escaped with cellmate Yang Han-peng (楊漢鵬) in the early hours of May 7 after taking two guards hostage at gunpoint, sparking a massive manhunt.

One of the guards was released later, but Hsu Chang-ching (徐長慶) remained missing along with the two fugitives until police received a tip-off on the three's whereabouts on Friday.

Police suspect Hsu of being an accomplice in the duo's escape.

Police said they first received information on the three's activities after they visited a brothel operating under the guise of a skin-care center in Yuanlin township at around 4pm. The three turned up later for another visit at a different brothel in the same area at around 11pm.

Police cars then followed and knocked down their motorcycles and arrested the three after they entered Puhsin (埔心) township.

Police also seized an MP5 submachine gun, two pistols and 107 rounds of ammunition from Yang's backpack.

Police said Huang tried to bribe the police officers with NT$500,000 on the spot. The offer was turned down.

Investigators said the three were telling conflicting stories about their escape during yesterday's questioning. Hsu said Huang had feigned a stomach ache on May 7 when he opened the door of Huang's ward and held him at gunpoint.

Huang contradicted Hsu's story by saying Hsu had voluntarily helped him escape because he was enraged by the injustice of Huang's death sentence. Huang also added that the escape was impromptu.

Yang, on the other hand, told police that Huang had single-handedly planned the escape. Huang had also threatened him by saying that police would torture and question him if he stayed behind, Yang said.

Police said they were tracking down at least 10 suspected accomplices in the escape, including those who may have provided financial support.

Police said Huang had footed the bills for the three's expenses during their 13 days on the run. Huang had also visited or phoned a number of township mayors in Changhua County after the escape, possibly to extort money needed to smuggle themselves out of Taiwan, according to police.

Police said they are also investigating the involvement of other prison officials in the case.

The Ministry of Justice replaced the center's warden, Lee Tai-shun (李太順), and security chief Lin Tu-chih (林篤志) on May 9. The two also received major demerits over the lapse.

Prison guard Liu Ming-chang (劉銘彰) was also taken into custody on May 12 after investigators found evidence that he may have been lying about the case.

Twenty-five other officers from the facility are also on a list for possible administrative discipline over the escape.

After their escape, the three hid for five days in an empty house in the Tatu mountain (大肚山) area in Taichung, near the place the three had abandoned their car, police said.

Huang had correctly calculated that police would believe the three had gone to other areas in an attempt to sneak out of the country, police said. The three then moved to another empty apartment in Changhua County on May 11, police said.