Fugitive caught after six days on the run

By Kim Bo-eun

Police apprehended a 50-year-old robbery suspect who had escaped from a jail in Daegu through a narrow food slot, Saturday, after six days on the run.

Officers said Choi Gab-bok was caught on the rooftop of an apartment building in Milyang, south of Daegu, where he was hiding in a cardboard crate.

Choi reportedly escaped through a 15-centimeter-high, 45-centimeter-wide food slot at a prison cell at Daegu’s Dongbu Police Station on Sept. 17, after applying the antibiotic fusidin all over his body before squeezing through it. All three police officers on duty were sleeping.

Choi, who is 165 centimeters tall and weighs 52 kilograms, is apparently a yoga master. He had been detained on robbery charges since Sept. 12.

Following his early morning escape, Choi reportedly stole a credit card and a car. The stolen car passed the Cheongdo Interchange, south of Daegu, around 10 p.m. the same day.

On Friday, a memo written by Choi was found in a farmer’s hut in Milyang, which said, “I’m different from other thieves. I’m special.”

The next day, he broke into a house in the city, but fled after being discovered by the occupant.

Detectives apprehended him following a tip-off from a villager.

Choi insisted that he escaped to prove his innocence.

“I have never hurt or stolen from anyone, but police and victims had been making false accusations. That’s why I ran away,” he told reporters.

Officials at the Daegu police station said Choi was detained this time in a cell with a far smaller food slot measuring 11 cm in height and 102.5 cm in width.