It was probably meant to go down like an episode of the popular American TV
series Prison Break.
But eight inmates planning an escape from a detention house
in Hubei Province soon realized that talking too much about their planned
breakout won't get them very far.
Police learned of the wannabe escapees'
plan after being tipped off by the other inmates at the Chibi jail in the
Central China province, Chutian Metropolis News reported.
It was revealed
that the eight inmates in Cell 8 planned to lure a policeman on duty into their
cell by staging a fake fight, subdue him, and steal his keys.
The
plotters were Liu Yaonong, 22, who was caught by local police two months ago for
allegedly smuggling 300 g of drugs from South China's Guangdong Province and
Zheng Hengxing, 16, who was in custody on robbery charges.
A special
guard force was mobilized to neutralize the breakout attempt, following the
tip-off Monday.
At 8:40 pm, police found Zheng had covered the security
camera in Cell 8 with a towel.
Then came the sound of the staged fight
coming from the cell.
Police called for the inmates to stop fighting
without opening the cell door.
However, 20 minutes later, fighting again
commenced much louder with screams of: "I will beat you to death" in another
attempt to lure a guard into the cell.
At that point 16 armed policemen
stormed the cell and restrained the eight inmates.
The inmates have
confessed to the escape plot, authorities said. They face separate charges, and
a thorough investigation is under way.
Min Yaguang, a top city police
officer said the prison break attempt was destined to fail without a
tip-off.
The detention center has several security defense systems,
including some that cannot be deactivated by guards alone, he said.
In
another development, a criminal surnamed Wang who tried to escape from a prison
in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province late last year had two more years
added to his prison sentence.
Jailed in 2003, Wang dug a tunnel in a
boiler house and managed to evade capture for three days.
(China Daily
07/12/2007 page 5)
Vocabulary:
inmate：（監(jiān)獄或精神病院等處的）同住者
Questions:
1. How did the police hear about
the plot to escape?
2. How did the inmates plan to lure the guards into the cell?
3. How did the inmates plan to avoid being seen by the cameras?
Answers:
1. Other prisoners tipped them off.
2. By staging a fight.
3. By putting a towel over the camera.
（英語點津 Linda 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Chase Warrington is a senior majoring in Risk Management and
Insurance, with a minor in International Business at Appalachian State
University in Boone, NC. He finds himself at China Daily Website after traveling
though China as a Holland Fellow, Appalachian's international exchange program
with Fudan University.
Chase Warrington is a senior majoring in Risk Management and
Insurance, with a minor in International Business at Appalachian State
University in Boone, NC. He finds himself at China Daily Website after traveling
though China as a Holland Fellow, Appalachian's international exchange program
with Fudan University. 
