Man in northern Taiwan hides in city drain system to evade police officers

北台灣男子在下水道中躲避警察

He hid in the drain for three hours


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A man surnamed Deng, who has been on the wanted list for sometime for offenses related to drugs, ran away from the police after giving the authorities false identity information and hid inside the sewage system of Hsinchu County in his attempt to evade the officers, but after three hours in the smelly hideout he willingly surrendered.

The cops stopped Deng after he made a wrong turn when the traffic light was still red around 7 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 21. When approached by police the suspect provided officers with a false identity and then fled when he realized the officers had figured out he was lying.

He then ran, leaping over a guard rail and crawling into a sewage pipeline, where he stayed for 3 hours.

The officers sought help from the city sewage managers who traced the course of the drainage system and located the suspect around 10 a.m., about 100 meters from where the suspect first got inside the drain.

When the officers lifted the cover, the suspect, reportedly climbed out willingly because he could no longer take the foul smell of waste that he was covered in, thus giving himself up to the authorities.

The officers arrested him after helping him wash his face and shoulders with bottled water, and then finally took him to a nearby gas station to give him a complete rinse.

The suspect is currently in the custody of the local authorities in Hsinchu, and has been detained for further questioning and investigation.