Kaohsiung Prison riot
TimeFirst two guards taken: 11 February 2015 (2015-02-11), 4:30 p.m. (UTC+8)[1]
Head warden released: 12 February 2015 (2015-02-12), 5:00 a.m. (UTC+8)[2]
LocationKaohsiung, Taiwan
MotiveProtest of Chen Shui-bian's medical parole

The Kaohsiung Prison riot was a hostage situation that occurred at Kaohsiung Prison in Taiwan starting 11 February 2015. Six inmates, whose ringleader was a member of Bamboo Union,[3] seized weapons, including assault rifles, and took the warden hostage for a 14-hour high-profile stand-off, which caught media attention nationwide. The group of inmates eventually committed mass suicide.[4] The inmates protested that the former President of the Republic of China Chen Shui-bian, who jailed for 20 years for money laundering, was granted medical parole due to his status as a political prisoner[5][6] while other prisoners were denied. This is the first ever prison riot with officials held hostage in the history of Taiwan.[7][8]

Aftermath

A subsequent investigation found that the head prison warden was unaware of the hostage crisis for 30 minutes after it began.[9] On 26 February 2015, the Ministry of Justice announced that 23 prison officials had been reprimanded for their handling of the incident.[10] The head warden was demoted and given a demerit. Demerits were also served to two of his top aides, and to the head of the Agency of Corrections.[11]

By August 2016, the head warden, deputy warden and head guard were no longer in their respective positions and had been impeached by the Control Yuan.[12]

Popular culture

Taiwanese media compared[13] this riot to the 1988 Seoul prison jailbreak in which Ji Kang-hun [ko] escaped to protest the seven-year sentence of Chun Kyeong-hwan, the brother of South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan, who was convicted of embezzlement and tax evasion.[14] Ji thought it unfair that he received a longer sentence for stealing a smaller amount of money. The Korean movie The Holiday [ko] starring Lee Sung-jae was based on this incident.

References

  1. ^ "Taiwan prison siege ends in suicides of hostage-takers". BBC News. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  2. ^ Chen, Ja-fo; Lee, Bear; Chen, Jay (12 February 2015). "Kaohsiung prison hostage crisis ends in suicide of six inmates". Central News Agency. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Inmates take jail staff hostage in Taiwan". Sky News Australia. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  4. ^ Armstrong, Paul (13 February 2015). "Inmates free hostages, shoot themselves dead after Taiwan prison siege". CNN.com. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Taiwan prison siege ends, six armed inmates kill themselves". Channel NewsAsia. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  6. ^ Chung, Lawrence (11 February 2015). "Six prisoners commit suicide after shoot-out in Taiwan prison seige". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Don't blame MOJ officials too harshly". The China Post. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  8. ^ Chen, Chao-fu; Lee, Bear (12 February 2015). "Kaohsiung Prison hostage incident ends with hijackers committing suicide". Central News Agency. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  9. ^ Chung, Lawrence (27 February 2015). "Taiwan prison warden 'lied about heroic offer to be hostage' in deadly siege". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  10. ^ Pan, Jason (28 February 2015). "Prison warden demoted after MOJ probe". Taipei Times. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  11. ^ Tsai, Pei-chi; Chang, Maubo (26 February 2015). "Prison warden, officials disciplined over hostage crisis". Central News Agency. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  12. ^ Liu, Claudia; Low, Y. F. (16 August 2016). "Former Kaohsiung Prison officials impeached over hostage crisis". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  13. ^ "高雄監獄挾持案 3大巧合似韓片《逃獄風雲》". China Times (in Chinese). 12 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  14. ^ Jameson, Sam (6 September 1988). "Chun Brother Convicted in South Korea : He Gets 7 Years for Fraud, Embezzlement While a High Official". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 February 2015.

22°35′23″N 120°23′54″E / 22.5896°N 120.3982°E / 22.5896; 120.3982

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