An inmate who escaped from Lyudao Prison on Taitung County’s Green Island (綠島) yesterday afternoon remained at-large as of yesterday evening, local authorities said.
The inmate, 40-year-old convicted drug dealer Wang Tien-you (王天佑), was believed to have escaped the prison at 2:40pm after locking a warden inside a cell, Lyudao Prison secretary Yang Jui-hsing (楊瑞興) told CNA.
Following the escape, authorities closed Green Island’s Nanliao Harbor, while about 20 officers from the Taitung County Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Corps were dispatched to the island to search for Wang.
Photo:CNA
Lyudao Township chief Hsieh Hsien-yu (謝賢裕) told reporters his office had received permission to publish a photo of Wang, who is believed to still be on the island.
Given the risk that Wang could steal food or other supplies as he attempts to evade police, island residents are advised to lock their doors and windows and not venture out after dark, Hsieh said.
The authorities have urged island residents to contact the Green Island Police Station, Lyudao Prison or Lyudao Township Office if they notice anything suspicious.
According to police data, Wang was sentenced to four years and seven months in prison for selling ketamine and possession of PMMA in Kaohsiung in 2019 and 2020.
He began serving his term at Lyudao Prison on March 20 last year and was scheduled for early release in October next year due to good behavior.
Green Island sits about 33km off the coast of Taitung in southeastern Taiwan and is accessible by ferry.
The 15km² island has a population of about 4,000.
Green Island was used as a penal colony during Taiwan’s martial law period from 1949 to 1987, during which time political dissidents such as Shih Ming-te (施明德), later head of the Democratic Progressive Party, were imprisoned there.
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