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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Kaohsiung prison siege ends in suicides
Police keep guard at the east entrance to Kaohsiung Prison early yesterday morning, where it was thought that six convicts holding hostages inside the prison might try to escape. Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
DEADLY STANDOFF: The six inmates tried to escape from the prison at least twice, but were repelled by the police force outside. They took their lives around 5am
A hostage standoff between police and six convicts at Kaohsiung Prison ended early yesterday with the prisoners committing suicide. Prison warden Chen Shih-chih （陳世志）, one of the hostages, walked out of the facility unharmed.
Gunshots were heard at various times throughout the night, as about 250 police officers swarmed the facility in Daliao District （大寮） to prevent the prisoners from escaping.
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office, which coordinated the police action, said that the police did not storm the prison during the 14-hour siege, and only fired shots in response to the prisoners’ gunfire.
Judicial officials said they negotiated with the six inmates holed up inside to try to persuade them to surrender peacefully and to release the two hostages: Chen and head guard Wang Shih-tsang （王世倉）.
The prison revolt was allegedly headed by Cheng Li-te （鄭立德）, the leader of a Kaohsiung chapter of the Bamboo Union （竹聯幫） triad, and Chin Yi-ming （秦義明）, with four other prisoners joining them.
Cheng was serving a 28-and-a-half-year sentence for murder, while Chin was serving a 46-year term for robbery and other convictions, according to the Ministry of Justice.
A breakthrough in the standoff came when Wang, the head guard, was released at 3.23am.
An intense skirmish occurred at 4:43am when the holed-up inmates tried to shoot through the prison’s side gate, while police fired back. The two sides exchanged more than 20 shots.
Police said the hostage-takers evidently tried to escape from that exit, but were rebuffed by officers stationed there.
Chen Chun-hsiu （陳俊秀）, a senior Kaohsiung prosecutor, said the situation started unraveling when gunshots were heard at about 5am.
Four of the inmates apparently committed suicide by shooting themselves in the head. The two remaining prisoners, Cheng and Chin committed suicide at 5:36am, he said.
The senior prosecutor, accompanied by other city prosecutors and armed police squads, entered the facility to gather evidence and examine the premises.
Ambulances arrived and the corpses of the inmates were carried to a local morgue, where forensic examiners were to verify their identities.
The jailbreak attempt started on Wednesday afternoon. Led by Cheng and Chin, the group headed to the facility’s medical room at about 3:10pm on the pretense of seeking medical treatment.
Carrying a pair of scissors, they fought and beat up two guards in the medical room and grabbed the keys to other rooms, according to information released by prosecutors yesterday.
Making their way to the reception room, the six overpowered three guards and took them as hostages at about 3:30pm, then headed to the Guard and Control Section area.
Prosecutors said the group used a fire extinguisher and other tools to smash through the two iron-barred doors to the weapons depot, where they seized four US-made 9mm Smith & Wesson handguns, and six Taiwan-manufactured T-65K2 rifles, along with 223 rounds of ammunition.
While still holding three guards as hostages at the section’s lobby area, the inmates sought to negotiate with head guard Wang and Chen Shih-chih, who were alerted and arrived at the scene.
The two officials offered themselves as hostages in exchange for the release of the three guards, prosecutor Chen Chun-hsiu said.
At 4.14pm, the group’s first attempt to break out failed when, with the two hostages in tow, they tried to exit through the prison’s front entrance, but were repelled by gunfire from local precinct officers.
The group went around to the prison’s side gate for a second attempt, but was rebuffed by police units who arrived in support.
They were forced to retreat into the detention facility area at about 4:30pm.
Authorities said gunshots were fired at various times, while negotiators tried to talk to the inmates, as well as provided them with meals, cigarettes and packets of betel nuts, as the group had requested.
During the night, family members and friends of the six inmates also accompanied the negotiators inside, hoping to persuade them to surrender.
The dramatic end was a shock to most people at the scene.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Forensic experts yesterday examine bullet holes in an iron gate of Kaohsiung Prison in Kaohsiung. Photo: Johnson Liu, EPA
The body of one of the six convicts who attempted a jailbreak at Kaohsiung Prison is taken to a morgue yesterday. Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Department of Correction Director Wu Shyan-chang on Wednesday reads out the five demands made in a statement by late former Bamboo Union member Cheng Li-te, at Kaohsiung Prison. Photo: CNA
