Inmates on the run after killing guard
- Source: Global Times
- [02:34 October 19 2009]
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But officials said no valuable tip-offs had yet been received.
Calls to the Prison Management Bureau and the prison to inquire about latest developments in the case were fruitless, as officials were reluctant to share information.
The incident has triggered heated discussions among local residents. While some cracked jokes, likening it to the latest episodes of the popular US TV show "Prison Break", others expressed their worry about the security of Hohhot.
"I was shocked at hearing the news," a Hohhot resident in her 20s, surnamed Sun, told the Global Times. "The four prisoners are still on the run, and they seem to be time bombs for the city."
Wang Yufan, a college teacher in Huhhot, told the Global Times that she and her family and friends are scared to go out, and the apartment building's door, which was usually unlocked, now stays locked.
Local authorities sent out a large number of police to comb the city at major roads, stations and the airport.
The four escapees were all born in the 1980s, with the youngest, Li Hongbin, aged 21 and the eldest, Qiao Haiqiang, 28. They were put in jail for robbery and theft.
Experts are questioning whether guards at the jail are partially responsible for the incident.
Chen Jieren, a commentator with China National Radio, said two of the prisoners were sentenced to death with a two-year suspension, which means if they behaved well, the penalty would likely have been converted to life imprisonment or limited jail terms.
"Usually prisoners like this would not choose to break the law again during the two years of parole," he said.
Qu Xinjiu, an expert in criminal law at the Chinese University of Politics and Law, told the Global Times that although information regarding the escape is still lacking, the related department shall look into whether the judicial officials on that day conducted a crime of dereliction of duty or malpractice.
According to Chinese Criminal Law, a judicial official shall be sentenced up to 10 years in jail, if his dereliction of duty results in the escape of suspects in detention, and causes serious consequences.
A massive jailbreak involving eight criminals in Xinguo, Jiangxi Province, in 2007 resulted in the masterminds of the criminal gang sentenced to life imprisonment and the director of the detention center was removed from his post.
Prison-break incidents have increased in recent years. Similar incidents were reported in Jieshou in Anhui Province and Hanzhong in Shannxi Province this year.
Zhang Han and Liang Chen contributed to the story
