Thief who fled Chinese jail 39 years ago back behind bars

A CHINESE prisoner who escaped from jail 39 years ago has finally been arrested after a lengthy cold-case review – but not before nearly giving police the slip one last time.

The 71-year-old, known only as Cao, was jailed for theft and sentenced to death in 1982. His punishment was eventually reduced to a fixed-term sentence. Shortly afterwards, he managed to flee Yannan prison in Hunan province after being granted leave to buy accessories to repair the jail’s film projector.

Cao then allegedly changed his name and travelled to Tibet where he stayed for around three decades.

“All these years, my heart has been very restless. I would tremble all over whenever I see a police car,” said Cao.

It was only when he returned to China in recent years that police began tracking him down again. The lack of basic information on Cao made the process difficult and it took officers considerable time to narrow down the fugitive’s whereabouts to Baochang Town in Nantong City.

But their efforts were nearly foiled when Cao realised his cover had been blown. As police prepared to arrest him on Sept 8, he tried to escape again, taking a car to a bus station before switching to several other vehicles to confuse his pursuers. He was finally caught a day later near Nantong City.

The pensioner was taken back to the Yannan where he will serve the rest of his sentence in addition to extra charges for escaping from custody.

“I shouldn’t have broken the law back then and escaped for many years far away from home,” said Cao. “I’ve lost my family, my friends and everything in the past. Now, I am willing to bravely face the reality and accept legal sanctions.”