More than 5,000 people, including armed police, have been
dispatched to search for two escaped convicts in Xingguo County,
east China's Jiangxi Province.
The two at large are among eight prisoners who broke out of a
detention house in Xingguo County on October 30; six were captured
two days after the escape.
According to Liu Tanghu, the only prison guard on duty that
night, the eight had crafted a well-organized escape plan.
The prisoners stayed late in one of the workshops, where
materials used to make plastic roses were stored. One of them
pretended to have a headache and lured Liu into the workshop.
Liu and Lai Wenchang, a minor offender serving as an assistant,
were both tied up with adhesive tape and ropes in just ten
minutes.
Having taken away Liu's keys, the prisoners disguised themselves
as transporters of plastic flowers, avoiding suspicion from the
armed police safeguarding one of the gates. They then broke through
four iron gates, half of which were unlocked.
Liu struggled to sound an alarm ten minutes later and reported
the breakout to the local public security bureau.
Hundreds of police officers started search operations all over
the county; inspection stations were set up at every tollgate and
intersection; the wanted list was broadcast on TV repeatedly.
At 10 AM October 30, about eight and a half hours after the
breakout, police captured two of the prisoners. Another four
runners fell into the net in succession by the end of the next
day.
A total of 5,000 people have been dispatched to search for the
last two prisoners, but some fear it is too late. It's said that
they might have crossed the border of Xingguo County, and the
operation headquarters have reportedly moved to neighboring Ganxian
County.
An official from the county's publicity department promised the
authorities would do everything in their power to bring the escaped
convicts back under arrest and refused to comment on the breakout
details revealed by the media. "We will hold a press conference
after all the prisoners are captured. Everything will be clear at
that time," he said.
(China.org.cn by Huang Shan November 5, 2007)