Ghana Prisons Service has broken its silence regarding the reported escape of a Chinese national who was serving a one-year jail term for theft at the Nsawam Maximum Security Prison.
The incident took place during the individual’s medical assessment at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra on Wednesday, February 7, 2024.
Superintendent Abdul Latif Adamu, the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service, confirmed the escape and revealed that the inmate, Wang Xiao, was undergoing medical examination at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital at the time of the incident.
During an interview on Citi FM on February 12, 2024, he elaborated that despite being escorted by prison officers, Xiao managed to escape.
“It is indeed true that an incident like that has come to the attention of the service, and we can confirm that, yes, an escape has happened at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where an inmate, a Chinese to be specific who was sent there for assessment for medical care, unfortunately, escaped.
“As it stands now, the issue is seriously under investigation, and we have mounted a strategy to search for and, if possible, recapture him. he was a convict serving a one-year jail term. the inmate in question was on transfer to Korle-Bu Hospital; it was a dental problem,” he said.
Superintendent Abdul Latif Adamu continued, “Officers were deployed to supervise him to ensure that he was escorted to the hospital and then back to the facility but unfortunately, this happened.
“That is why investigations are very necessary to establish how it happened and the factors that actually caused it. We have gotten a lot of leads that have proven to be successful in what we are doing,” he added.
In a separate report by the state-owned graphiconline.com, DSP Irene Pokuah Wiredu, Head of Media Relations for the service, disclosed that a wanted person notice has been issued, urging the public to assist in re-arresting Wang Xiao.