CHINA / SOCIETY
NE China prison offers $23,000 for capture of escaped foreign prisoner
Published: Oct 19, 2021 02:08 PM
A screen shot from the vedio by the Beijing News

A screen shot from the vedio by Beijing News



A prison in Northeast China's Jilin Province on Tuesday issued a reward notice by offering up to 150,000 yuan ($23,333.75) for the capture of a foreign prisoner who escaped from Jilin prison at around 6 pm on Monday.

The prisoner, Zhu Xianjian (transliteration) escaped the prison by climbing the canopies to the prison wall after work and his whereabouts are still unknown, according to the notice.

The escaped prisoner was born on October 13, 1982, and is 160 cm tall. This individual has a single eyelid, melon seed-like face, small eyes, and wore prison work clothes outside and a dark sweater and pants inside during the escape, the notice said. There is no registered residence information about him.

Those who can provide clues that help in the arrest of the suspect will be rewarded 100,000 yuan and those who will report key information that leads to his arrest will be rewarded 150,000 yuan. Whoever knowingly fails to report or harbors a criminal suspect will be investigated for legal responsibility based on law, added the notice.

The topic related to the prison break also triggered a heated discussion among Chinese netizens. The hashtag "Jilin prison issues reward notice" on China's twitter-like Sina Weibo has received over 22 million reads as of press time, with some reminding nearby residents to be careful and safe.

Policemen were deployed at the entrances to the prison, as well as the villages' entrances nearby; local residents said that policemen had searched the prisoner's home on Monday, according to media reports.

He was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2014 for three crimes including illegally crossing the national border, robbery with intent to cause serious injury. He was to be released and deported in 2023, according to media reports.

Media reported that he received abatements from penalties twice in 2017 and 2020, due to his acknowledgment of guilt and law abidance. In 2017, his sentence was reduced by six months as he showed his repentance and received education. In 2020, he was praised five times and his sentence was reduced by eight months according to law.