Convicted man caught attempting to swim to China to evade prison term

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) A Taiwanese man who attempted to swim from Taiwan's outlying Kinmen County to China to avoid serving a prison sentence has been jailed after being intercepted by coast guard officers, prosecutors said Tuesday.

The 38-year-old suspect, surnamed Lu (盧), had been placed under a travel ban but tried to flee by swimming across waters off Lieyu Township using snorkeling equipment on Sunday, according to the Kinmen District Prosecutors Office.

Officers from the Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu branch of the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) spotted Lu in coastal waters off Guishan, Lieyu, at around 10:50 p.m. using surveillance systems.

A joint land-and-sea operation was subsequently launched, and Lu was intercepted by a patrol boat at 12:05 a.m. Monday, about 0.8 nautical miles (1.48 kilometers) northwest of Guishan, within Taiwan-controlled waters.

He was arrested and taken into custody.

Prosecutors said Lu had been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison in a fraud case, which is currently under appeal, and was also facing a separate finalized sentence for violating the Personal Data Protection Act.

He had been ordered to report to prison on Tuesday to begin serving that sentence.

Instead, Lu attempted to flee to China, prosecutors said, indicating an intent to evade enforcement of his sentence.

Following his apprehension, prosecutors issued an arrest warrant and, after questioning, transferred him to prison to begin serving his sentence.

Authorities noted that Kinmen's proximity to China -- at points just 1.8 to 2.1 kilometers apart -- poses enforcement challenges, but said coordination between prosecutors and border agencies enables rapid response.