(Ecns.cn)--As the alarm went off on September 11 at the No. 3 Prison in the city of Shenzhou, Hebei Province, Wang Zhenqing, who would be jailed for 10 years since January this year for robbery, successfully broke out.
It seemingly did not trouble Wang very much to unlock the jail door and climb over the high walls equipped with a high-voltage grid.
Fortunately, he was recaptured 14 days after the escape, during which time the public's concern grew over the lax security at the shabby prison built in the 1970s.
Data shows that Wang was not the first fugitive to escape due to the obsolete equipment, chaotic management, and an inappropriate inside contracting system.
Obsolete equipment
Wang was assigned to make bird cages at the prison. Every day after work he was locked up in his cell until the next morning. Only the police on duty had the key, and two inmates were also assigned to guard other prisoners.
The ostensibly tough barrier, however, was easily broken through by Zhang, who, according to Han Ming, a police officer, was able to reach the key from behind the bar and unlock the door all by himself.
Wang Jiahua, an ex-prisoner who had been jailed at the same prison for 11 years until September 6, also pointed out that the keys had never been under close supervision. Some inmates even had keys and always wandered out of their cells at night. Though the locks had been changed many times, the new ones could be unlocked soon after.
Han Ming revealed that the police on duty did not assist the escape, but did fall asleep that day. Reporters from the Beijing News found beds in the watch house, which is against the rules.
Power brownout
After unlocking the door, Wang Zhenqing came to a garbage station neighboring his cell. He was excited to find the only door connecting to the wall of the prisoners' living area was open.
The wall, installed with a high-voltage grid, was not high enough on the one hand, and happened to be totally functionless due to a power brownout when Wang was trying to climb over that day.
Wang Jiahua also proved that an inmate had told him about a more than two-hour outage that started after 4:00 am that morning when they were chatting online via mobile phones.
Chen Haifeng, a worker at the prison, said that there are occasional power rationings to cut the electricity bills and save more government allocations.
Furthermore, Han Ming denied the explanation that Wang had made a hole in the electrified wire with a plastic bar and poked out from there.
Under the cover of heavy fog, Wang soon came to the outermost wall of the prison that connects with the outside world without being noticed by the guards on the watchtowers.
The old wall, already worn down over the years, was no trouble for Wang either. He eventually climbed over it and successfully fled.
Han Ming noted that the wall had been long neglected and in disrepair, and could be drilled through with a steel chisel within 10 minutes.
