Schools in Keelung and four New Taipei City districts are to be closed to the public until Wednesday, as police continue searching for an escaped patient convicted of attempted murder.
The New Taipei City Government on Tuesday decided to close campuses in Wanli (萬里), Sijhih (汐止), Pingsi (平溪) and Rueifang (瑞芳) districts to outsiders, as the patient was last spotted taking a bus toward Rueifang from Keelung.
Police patrols have been increased near schools, the city government said, advising students to travel in groups and not linger near campus.
Photo: Lu Hsien-hsiu, Taipei Times
The Keelung City Government earlier announced that campuses and local representative offices in the city would be closed until Wednesday.
The 39-year-old patient surnamed Chien (簡) escaped on Sunday from a mental hospital in Keelung where he was being held under guardianship before serving his prison sentence.
Chien was sentenced to three years in prison for attempted murder of a one-year-old girl in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華) in January last year.
However, considering his mental condition, the court ordered he be put under medical guardianship for five years before serving the sentence.
Additional reporting by Lu Hsien-hsiu
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