All Vietnamese fugitives apprehended after escape

Ten Vietnamese nationals apprehended for gambling escaped through a window in a conference room at a police station in Gwangju on Sunday. [YONHAP]

All ten Vietnamese nationals who escaped through a window at a police station in Gwangju on Sunday have been taken into custody. The fugitives either turned themselves in or were caught by police within 23 hours of their breakout.

According to Gwangsan Police Precinct, all ten Vietnamese nationals were in the country illegally and will face deportation.

Police found one suspect hiding in the home of an acquaintance at around 5 p.m. Monday in Seo District, Gwangju, while two others turned themselves in to police the same day. Police had been communicating with the suspects through social media, asking them to turn themselves in.

The fugitives testified they fled for fear of being deported due to their immigration status, police said.


The individuals in question were part of a group of 23 Vietnamese nationals who had been caught gambling in a house in Gwangsan District, Gwangju at around 3 a.m. Sunday.

After being apprehended, the suspects were brought to a police patrol unit under the jurisdiction of the Gwangsan Police Precinct. They were told to wait in a conference room without being handcuffed and called in individually for questioning.

With no police officer watching over them in the conference room, ten of the suspects escaped through a window in the room. The window only opened about 15 degrees, creating a gap of just 20 centimeters (8 inches) at its widest.

Police began tracking down the fugitives after discovering they were missing at 6:40 a.m. Sunday.

About 12 hours later, police caught one suspect hiding in a factory at an industrial complex in Gwangsan District. Two others who reportedly fled individually to Mokpo in South Jeolla and Wanju County in North Jeolla turned themselves in to the police.

Two more suspects turned themselves in at an immigration office in Gwangju on Sunday and one on Monday.

One another suspect was caught by police in a factory at another industrial complex in Gwangsan District. Police will additionally charge them all with fleeing.

While they were being investigated, some gambling suspects falsely identified themselves using the names of Vietnamese compatriots who were legally in the country, ultimately resulting in those individuals mistakenly being called in for questioning.

The arrested suspects will be turned over to immigration authorities and deported.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]