A total of 13 prison officers were formally disciplined yesterday following the Aug. 22 escape of four inmates from the Taiyuan Vocational Training Institute (
The harshest punishments meted out were to two prison guards, Kuo Tsung-lung (
The four inmates, serving sentences ranging from 13 years to life, apparently found Typhoon Bilis a good diversion for a getaway.
One escapee, 33-year-old Chen Yung-sung (陳永松), was found drowned on the morning of Aug. 24 in the sea near the estuary of a river running close to the perimeter of the prison. The police speculate that Chen fell into the river while trying to cross it as it flooded due to the heavy rains.
The whereabouts of the other three escapees are still unknown.
The escape was made between 10:30 and 11pm, and Kuo was on patrol duty from 8pm to 11pm. According to the report prepared by the Ministry of Justice, he didn't notice anything indicating an escape, such as the inmates breaking their window.
The escape was not detected until 11:15pm, by Wen, who suc-ceeded Kuo on patrol duty.
The report points out several defects relating to the management of the prison, which it says contributed to the escape.
Hsieh Wen-ting (
Meanwhile, Taitung police yesterday announced the end of an eight-day large-scale manhunt in nearby mountain areas for the remaining three fugitives.
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