SURAT THANI: Four detainees who escaped from the Koh Samui Court after being taken to trial on Friday afternoon have been recaptured separately on the island late on Friday.
Police were despatched to search for the prisoners after being alerted at around 4.30pm.
Shortly after leaving the courtroom to enter a truck back to the prison on Friday, the four prisoners immediately ran to a fence, climbed up and jumped off it to escape through coconut plantations and later disappeared into a mountain behind the court.
Some 200 local officials and rescue volunteers joined police in the hunt for the four escapees, who were identified as Paithoon Harnsuwan, Naruebet Paengthong, Porn-anan Maneesri and Thanawat Boonthan. All but Mr Naruebet were drug suspects. Mr Naruebet was facing a theft charge. They had been taken into custody for only a few days and had just been charged by police.
Three police teams searched for the detainees at all possible hideouts on the island. Checkpoints were put up around the island and ferry piers to block the escape routes.
The hunt took several hours before traces of footprints belonging to the escapees and two brown prison uniforms were found at Bang Sao Thong waterfall. This led the police to arrest two of the escapees at the waterfall on Friday night
Mr Naruebet and Mr Porn-anan, whose legs were still shackled when found, apparently looked exhausted.
The two others -- Mr Thanawat and Mr Paithoon -- were subsequently recaptured at abandoned living quarters of workers in tambon Mared. A friend who helped them hide at the living quarters and brought them a change of clothes was also caught.
During the interrogation, Mr Paithoon claimed he had not planned to escape but did so when he saw the three other inmates running before being taken to the prison truck.
Four detainees who escaped from the Koh Samui Provincial Court are recaptured on the island on Friday night. (Photo by Supapong Chaolan)
