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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Prosecutors investigating collusion in prison break
BLISSFUL IGNORANCE: Warden Chen Shih-chih said that he was unaware of the ongoing incident until 30 minutes after it began, despite the ringing of alarms
By Jason Pan / Staff Reporter
Following the release of the official Ministry of Justice （MOJ） report last week of an attempted prison break in Kaohsiung last month, public prosecutors are now conducting a criminal investigation into the bank accounts and financial transactions of Kaohsiung Prison Warden Chen Shih-chih （陳世志） and other officials at the facility.
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office probe aims to find out what happened during the tense 14-hour prison siege on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, and to address persistent speculation that the six inmates involved in an attempted jail break “received inside help,” and clarify if there was collusion by prison officials.
An official at the office said on Friday that subpoenas have been issued for the prison records and bank statements of all the people who visited the six inmates in the past few months.
The prosecutors’ plan to summon Chen, along with deputy warden Lai Cheng-jung （賴政榮）, the prison’s Guard and Control Section head Wang Shih-chang （王世倉） and several other supervisors and guards for questioning in the coming weeks, the official said.
According to the MOJ report, in the beginning the six inmates, armed with steel rods and broken scissors, only encountered “passive resistance” by some guards. The inmates later turned more violent, taking hostages and breaking into the armory.
The report also pointed to other suspicious circumstances, as on the day of the jailbreak attempt, guards had frisked the six inmates three times to check for weapons, yet somehow failed to detect the steel rods and broken scissors concealed on them as the six proceeded to their rally location in the medical room.
The report said that when the assault began, three guards were dispatched to the site by the prison’s central communication office, but the guards were slow to report the situation, and no contact was established with the warden.
Investigators are also looking into possible collusion by top prison officials, as during negotiations, Chen and his deputy Lai agreed to the hostage-takers’ demands and radioed for two cars to be driven inside the prison to allow the six inmates to escape.
The request for cars was made twice, once in the afternoon and once in the evening on Feb. 11.
MOJ investigators were also concerned by the fact that emergency alarms rang for half an hour, but Chen said he had received no reports and was unaware of the situation, and that immediately after Lai was released by the prisoners, he instructed subordinates to say “the prison is conducting a drill” in response to media inquiries.
The officials said they had received tips and eyewitness accounts that suggested collusion and possible “inside help” which warranted a criminal investigation.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
