An man who escaped from a Green Island (綠島) prison on Monday afternoon has been arrested after being found in a prison staff dormitory that night, police said.
Wang Tien-you (王天佑), a 40-year-old convicted on drugs charges, escaped from Lyudao Prison on Taitung County’s Green Island, but was found on the second floor of the dormitory and arrested after police launched a search of the island.
Yang Jui-hsing (楊瑞興), the secretary of the prison, yesterday said that Wang was found in a conspicuous location, seemingly intent on being found.
Photo: Taipei Times
Wang told officers that he regretted escaping, as it was too cold outside, Yang said.
He had a heavy jacket and a woolen cap when he escaped, but was wearing only a sweatshirt and shorts when he was found, Yang said, adding that he appeared cold and hungry.
Wang was put in a cell with other inmates and his emotions have stabilized, police said.
He will be sent to the Taitung District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning, weather permitting, they said.
The escape was not planned, the preliminary findings of a prison investigation showed.
Wang locked two wardens in a prison warehouse, climbed a wall and escaped into the hills of the 15km2 island at about 2:40pm on Monday, Yang said.
After nightfall, Wang returned to the prison area and hid in the staff dormitory, which is just outside the prison’s main walls, Yang said.
Wang might have been stressed over his latest application for parole, he said.
With his release 22 months away and having already been denied parole twice, he had applied a third time and might have been worried about being denied again, he said.
Wang was sentenced to four years and seven months for selling ketamine and possession of PMMA, a hallucinogen, in Kaohsiung, police data showed.
He began serving his term in March 2022 and was to be released in October 2026, the data showed.
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