Hostage situation at prison in Kaohsiung

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
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TVBS and other media sources are saying that as many as six prisoners armed with guns have taken the warden of Kaohsiung Prison hostage and are demanding escape vehicles. This sort of prison break is unprecedented in Taiwan. Will update with more info.

5:45: apparently a few shots were fired at some point, and a guard may have been injured. A lot is unclear. Heavily armed police are being mobilized. The main perpetrator is believed to be the head of Bamboo United (竹聯幫) in Kaohsiung. Initial reports said prisoners got into a brawl, and when guards intervened, they took the opportunity to move against them. Sounds like the scene from Guardians of the Galaxy.

6:30 more details. Six inmates managed to break into the gun stash somehow, obtaining four rifles and six handguns. They took a prison official and two 替代役 (alt. military service) personnel hostage. The head of the guards and the deputy warden offered themselves as hostages in exchange for the other three’s release. The warden then swapped himself for the deputy warden. The prisoners have been convicted of charges including drug offenses, robbery, and murder, and they are demanding a getaway car. This is all confirmed by the Ministry of Justice.

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Woah! Great reporting. Keep those updates coming!

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Not written in this story: No injuries reported, just a tense situation.

focustaiwan.tw/news/asoc/201502110028.aspx

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Live link: youtu.be/XxJKnDLYZz4

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Its happening now… armed standoff with police. Anyone have info?

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straitstimes.com/news/asia/e … e-20150211

Here is a link to the current story

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SIX inmates at a prison in Taiwan’s southern city of Kaohsiung are demanding a getaway on Wednesday after taking the warden hostage, Taiwanese media reported.

The six took a military serviceman and a staff member at the Kaohsiung Prison hostage at about 4:30pm, Central News Agency cited justice ministry deputy minister Chen Ming-tang as telling Taiwan media, before warden Chen Shih-chih volunteered to take the place of the two hostages. No one has been harmed.

The inmates are demanding that the authorities provide them with a car and that they be allowed to leave through the prison’s side door, reports said. Negotiations with police led by Kaohsiung police chief Chen Chia-chin are still on going as of 7pm.

The hostage takers are armed with four rifles, six guns and more than 200 rounds of ammunition from the prison’s armoury which they had broken into, deputy minister Chen said at the press conference.

Four of the inmates were jailed for drug-related crimes, while the other two were convicted of robbery and murder respectively, reports said. They were serving sentences ranging from 25 years to life imprisonment.

The ringleader is said to be 46-year-old Cheng Li-teh, a hardened criminal and a member of the notorious United Bamboo Gang.

Large numbers of armed police wearing bullet-proof vest have entered the prison complex, CNA reported. Several fire engines have also been deployed to the facility and are now parked at its gates, it said.

The authorities have also asked the inmates’ relatives to come to the prison, in hopes that they could persuade the men to not commit harm.

A witness interviewed by ET TV said he had heard gunshots ring out of the complex, but police have yet to confirm the account.

According to broadcaster TVBS, the drama started when a prison guard was taken hostage by the inmates while trying to stop a row that had broken out among them. The inmates then forced their way into the prison’s armoury and helped themselves to the weapons.

However they were unable to break out of the complex as it is equipped with heavily-secured doors that could only be opened by an official, TVBS said.

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“the notorious United Bamboo Gang”…great fact checking by someone there…

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You’re in it (now).

Nothing new happening. The police have brought relatives to try and appeal to the hostage-takers, but when you’re already serving a 28 year sentence for murder, I think it’s sort of an all-or-nothing situation.

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As a friend of mine said “They’re on a pretty tiny island. Where’s a getaway car gonna get them?”.
Not exactly a lot of foresight there.
I guess a private helicopter will be the next request.

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34 years, 46 years convicts with long convictions… those are what we call back in the ok country the ones who have nothing to lose… not good.

Reports of demands for better conditions, medical attention. Mixed info about more hostages and degree of wounds. Two channels reporting the prisoners used scissors to hurt guard, then storm place.

Car to escape to “safe house”. But yes, long swim to China.

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[quote=“Hokwongwei”]Initial reports said prisoners got into a brawl, and when guards intervened, they took the opportunity to move against them. Sounds like the scene from Guardians of the Galaxy.
[/quote]

The old stage a brawl to sucker the guards trope.

I’d like to see a movie where that doesn’t work.

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Tear gas everyone. Flash bomb and storm.

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Do they really think getaway vehicles wouldn’t be tracked/followed?

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[quote=“rowland”][quote=“Hokwongwei”]Initial reports said prisoners got into a brawl, and when guards intervened, they took the opportunity to move against them. Sounds like the scene from Guardians of the Galaxy.
[/quote]

The old stage a brawl to sucker the guards trope.

I’d like to see a movie where that doesn’t work.[/quote]

Well, the guards don’t really have the option of not intervening.

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Seems the hostage takers have all killed themselves. Hostage(s) OK.

Quite a bizarre ending if true.

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[quote=“irishstu”]Seems the hostage takers have all killed themselves. Hostage(s) OK.

Quite a bizarre ending if true.[/quote]

:frowning:

Indeed. As said, these are people who are in their 50’s or 60’s, with sentences of over 30 years. Plus several had other pending convictions.

At least they took their lives without much harm to others… if true.

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Bizarre indeed. Sure it happened that way? The police didn’t storm and shoot them dead like they would in the US of A ?

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I thought the same thing. :laughing:

[quote]

“How come Chen Shui-bian could be released just because he has problem urinating? Other inmates who are bed-ridden or wheelchair-bound don’t get the same privilege,” said Cheng, who entered Kaohsiung Prison in 2012. [/quote]

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Sad end to this story. They made a strong statement by ending their own lives as a group.