TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An inmate of a minimum security prison who failed to return to the facility after taking family leave was captured in an internet cafe in New Taipei City on Tuesday (Feb. 14) after a manhunt had been carried out to find him.
On Tuesday (Feb. 14), the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) issued an urgent notice that an inmate from the Hualien Zihciang Minimum-Security Prison (花蓮自強外役監) had escaped. The inmate was granted leave to visit relatives but failed to return to the prison.
The escaped inmate, 27-year-old Lu Tsung-lung (魯宗龍), was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison by the Fuchien High Court Kinmen Branch Court for fraud and theft, reported ETtoday. However, because his household registration is in Hualien County, Lu was sent to the Hualien Zihciang Minimum-Security Prison to serve his sentence.
Recently, Lu applied for permission to travel to his hometown in Kinmen County to visit his relatives on Saturday (Feb. 11). He was originally supposed to return to the prison at 8 p.m. on Monday (Feb. 13), but his flight was delayed due to fog.
He took a later flight at 5 p.m. and arrived at Songshan Airport at 7 p.m. At the airport, he notified the prison that he would return to the prison facility and would go to Nangang Train Station to purchase a ticket to go back to Hualien.
However, Lu never appeared that evening and prison staff contacted his family members, who claimed they were unaware of his whereabouts. The Ministry of Justice notified the CIB to issue a special warrant for his arrest.
The killing of two police officers by an escapee from Mingde Minimum Security Prison in Tainan City shocked the public last year. Therefore, the CIB advised police officers to take precautions to ensure their own safety when searching for the inmate.
Police then began reviewing surveillance camera footage and saw him getting off a plane at Songshan Airport and buying tickets at Nangang Station. Instead of buying a ticket to Hualien, Lu appeared to purchase a ticket to New Taipei City's Xizhi District.
At 3 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, police were able to pinpoint Lu's location to an internet cafe in Xizhi, reported UDN. Police arrested him on the spot and are escorting him back to Hualien.
Lu had been allowed to go out on leave five times and had less than one year left on his sentence. He applied for parole in November last year, but was denied.
His escape may affect his chances of being released from prison on parole in the future.