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Mah Ying Jiu released life sentenced Ah Bian from prison is unfair to all other inmates especially those with even lower sentences than the corrupt ex-president still imprisoned without perole.
They overpowered the armed guards and took chief warden hostage for 14 hrs then suicide after the media published their statements of protest. They shot themselves in their heads.
Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou demands speedy reform after inmates commit suicide in prison siege
Taiwanese leader says hostage-taking incident by inmates exposed loopholes in prison system
Armed officers were deployed around the prison as inmate Cheng Li-te (right) led five of his cellmates in laying siege to the jailhouse.
Policemen stand guard over the bodies of the six inmates who took their own lives at Kaohsiung Prison early yesterday.Photos: Reuters, CNA
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has demanded speedy reform of the island's much-criticised prison conditions, after its first-ever jailhouse siege ended in the suicides of the six inmates who had been holding two prison officers hostage.
"The incident that has shocked the public exposes loopholes in our prison management system," Ma said yesterday, adding that he had ordered all correction agencies to be on high alert and to ensure that other inmates were not agitated by the case.
"The relevant agencies must work out a concrete reform plan within a week for swift implementation."
The siege in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung Prison ended yesterday morning after the six armed inmates, who were holding hostage a warden and a head guard, took their own lives. Their deaths followed a 14-hour stand-off and a shoot-out with police.
The inmates had earlier complained of tough conditions, meagre pay for factory work, unfair treatment and especially their lack of hope for parole.
"The incident exposes the serious over-congestion of prison cells in Taiwan, the unstable emotions of the inmates because of a reduction of their chances to be released on parole, and inadequate manpower, facilities and budgets in all prisons across Taiwan," former Central Policy University head Yeh Yu-lan said, adding that the inmates committed suicide because they had no hope left in life.
The six inmates had been convicted of murder, burglary and drug-related offences, among other crimes, and were serving out lengthy jail terms of between 25 and 46 years.
"As they were all serving long sentences and knew there was little chance they could escape, they felt helpless," said Kaohsiung Police Department head Chen Chia-chin.
He added that the police had exercised caution in handling the siege, including restraining the use of firearms and granting the inmates' wishes, expressed during negotiations, to be served food, betel nut, beer and strong liquor. The two hostages were unharmed and there were no reports of injuries.
At a news conference in Taipei after the incident, Deputy Justice Minister Chen Ming-tang revealed details about the inmates' last moments.
"Four of them used handguns they had seized from the prison to shoot themselves, while two others added several shots to make sure that the four were dead before they killed themselves with rifles also taken from the jail," he said.
A delivery driver who was hiding in a toilet in the prison said he overheard the last two inmates saying "Sorry brother, I wish you peace wherever you are" before they counted to three and delivered the fatal shots at each other.
The truck driver, identified only by his surname Tsai, said he had been delivering goods at the prison when the siege started, and a prison officer had quickly ushered him into a nearby toilet and locked him in to keep him from getting hurt.
The siege started at about 4pm on Wednesday when inmate Cheng Li-te, head of a Kaohsiung-based faction of the Bamboo Union Gang triad, led five of his cellmates to the medical ward claiming they needed treatment.
The group, who worked at the prison's sewing factory, had stolen a pair of scissors, which they used to threaten the medical officers. They then made their way to the reception room and took two guards hostage after finding it a dead end. They headed to the armoury next, where they seized four rifles, six handguns and more than 200 bullets.
As hundreds of police officers surrounded the prison, deputy warden Lai Chen-jung and head guard Wang Shih-tsang offered to swap places with the two junior guards who were being held hostage. Head warden Chen Shih-chih later asked to take Lai's place and the inmates agreed.
The inmates, who demanded safe passage from the prison during negotiations, initially tried to escape through the main gate but found it locked.
Proceeding to the side gate, they encountered dozens of police officers and a volley of shots was exchanged. No injuries were reported from the brief shoot-out
The group then returned to a prison office as about 250 officers and sharpshooters were deployed around the jailhouse and in nearby buildings.
At about 3.30am, the inmates released head guard Wang as multiple gunshots were heard from the prison. Half an hour later, they shot into the air as local television companies tried using aerial cameras to film the siege from above.
By 5.40am, all six inmates had taken their own lives, Deputy Justice Minister Chen said. Their bodies were taken to a Kaohsiung hospital for autopsies.
Chen confirmed that a handwritten note from inmate Cheng, demanding parole, had been handed to a negotiator earlier that night.
In the letter, Cheng said it was unfair that former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian was granted parole "because of his political status". The former leader was jailed for corruption in 2009 but released last month on medical grounds.
The inmate also complained that the daily pay in jail was only NT$200 (HK$50) and he demanded a raise.
Ma said the hostage-taking was unacceptable, but that he was regretful about its outcome, offering his condolences to the inmates' families.
Police outside the Kaohsiung prison in southern Taiwan. Photo: AFP
Taiwan yesterday blamed flawed management for the island's prison siege and the suicide of six inmates who found their attempt to escape hopeless.
The Justice Ministry identified eight blunders, including the failure to prevent inmates obtaining weapons, had made it easier for prisoners to stage the siege at Kaohsiung Prison.
The prisoners, led by Cheng Li-te, a former head of the Kaohisung faction of the Bamboo Union triad gang serving a lengthy sentence for murder, held several prison officials hostage, including the warden, on Wednesday in their attempt to break out of jail.
The six prisoners ended up shooting themselves with guns taken from the prison armoury following a 14-hour stand-off with hundreds of police, including sharpshooters, who were deployed to prevent the inmates from escaping.
The movie-like saga, widely reported by local and foreign media, prompted the island's president, Ma Ying-jeou, to order authorities to find out the shortcomings of the current prison management and to step up prison reform within a week.
Senior officials of the justice ministry, corrections agency and prosecution department held a full-day meeting yesterday where they identified eight "blunders" that must be addressed to improve prison management on the island.
The first was the failure of prison officials to make thorough checks of inmates and then the jail workshops. "As a result, prisoners are able to hide sharp metal objects as weapons in the workshops and jail cells, and carrying concealed weapons with them around the prison," according to a Justice Ministry report released on Thursday night.
Pretending to need medical treatment, the six used a pair of scissors obtained from the sewing workshop to threaten medical officials and finally held hostage the warden and a head guard, the ministry said.
Inadequate security in the prison's armory allowed the inmates to get four powerful rifles and six pistols during their stand-off with police, the ministry said. Obsolete video monitoring equipment also impeded the police handling of the siege.
Inadequate manpower plus a failure to stop news media from broadcasting live or using aerial cameras for news coverage also needed to be addressed, the ministry noted.
