Kaohsiung Prison riot
Time | First 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] |
---|---|
Location | Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
Motive | Protest 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
- ^ "Taiwan prison siege ends in suicides of hostage-takers". BBC News. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Inmates take jail staff hostage in Taiwan". Sky News Australia. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ Armstrong, Paul (13 February 2015). "Inmates free hostages, shoot themselves dead after Taiwan prison siege". CNN.com. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ "Taiwan prison siege ends, six armed inmates kill themselves". Channel NewsAsia. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ Chung, Lawrence (11 February 2015). "Six prisoners commit suicide after shoot-out in Taiwan prison seige". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ "Don't blame MOJ officials too harshly". The China Post. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ Chen, Chao-fu; Lee, Bear (12 February 2015). "Kaohsiung Prison hostage incident ends with hijackers committing suicide". Central News Agency. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Pan, Jason (28 February 2015). "Prison warden demoted after MOJ probe". Taipei Times. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ Tsai, Pei-chi; Chang, Maubo (26 February 2015). "Prison warden, officials disciplined over hostage crisis". Central News Agency. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
- ^ Liu, Claudia; Low, Y. F. (16 August 2016). "Former Kaohsiung Prison officials impeached over hostage crisis". Central News Agency. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- v
- t
- e
- 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion
- 1830 Bathurst Rebellion
- 1846 Cooking Pot Uprising
- 1943 Featherston prisoner of war camp riot
- 1943 Sobibor extermination camp uprising
- 1943 Janowska concentration camp riot
- 1944 Cowra breakout
- 1946 Battle of Alcatraz
- 1953 Norilsk uprising
- 1953 Vorkuta uprising
- 1954 Kengir uprising
- 1959 Montana State Prison riot
- 1963 Pulau Senang prison riots
- 1971 Kingston Penitentiary riot
- 1971 Attica Prison riot
- 1974 Huntsville Prison siege
- 1976 HM Prison Hull riot
- 1980 New Mexico State Penitentiary riot
- 1985 Badaber Uprising
- 1985 Oklahoma State Penitentiary riot
- 1986 West Virginia State Penitentiary riot
- 1986 Peruvian prison massacres
- 1987 Atlanta prison riots
- 1988 Fremantle Prison riot
- 1989 SCI Camp Hill Pennsylvania riots
- 1989 Polish prison riots
- 1990 Leopoldov prison uprising
- 1990 Strangeways Prison riot
- 1990 Southport Correctional Facility riot
- 1991 Federal Correctional Institution, Talladega riot
- 1992 Carandiru massacre
- 1993 Southern Ohio Correctional Facility riot
- 1997 Khujand prison riot
- 2000 F-type prisons strike and riots
- 2001 Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
- 2003 Eagle Mountain riot
- 2004 Arizona State Prison Complex – Lewis riot
- 2006 North County Correctional Facility riot
- 2007 New Castle Correctional Facility riot
- 2008 United States Penitentiary, Florence riot
- 2008 La Mesa Prison riot
- 2009 Mexico prison riot
- 2011 HM Prison Ford riot
- 2012 Altamira prison brawl
- 2012 Apodaca prison riot
- 2012 Yare prison riot
- 2012 Welikada prison riot
- 2013 Uribana prison riot
- 2013 Palmasola prison riot
- 2015 Kaohsiung Prison riot
- 2016 Topo Chico prison riot
- 2016 Agricultural Penitentiary of Monte Cristo riot
- 2017 Kidapawan jail siege
- 2017 Brazil prison riots
- 2018 Valencia, Venezuela fire
- 2019 Acarigua prison riot
- 2019 Amazonas prison riots
- 2019 Altamira prison riot
- 2019 Cameroon prison riots
- 2020 Guanare prison riot
- 2020 Mahara prison riot
- 2021 February 2021 Ecuadorian prison riots
- 2021 September 2021 Guayaquil prison riot
- 2021 November 2021 Guayaquil prison riot
- 2021 Tula prison break
- 2022 Battle of al-Hasakah
- 2022 Tuluá prison riot
- 2023 Támara prison riot
22°35′23″N 120°23′54″E / 22.5896°N 120.3982°E / 22.5896; 120.3982