Prison break ends in apology

A MANHUNT that riveted Japan ended yesterday when police captured a Chinese convict who bolted from a Hiroshima penitentiary on Wednesday in his underwear in the country’s first prison break in more than two decades.

Police found Li Guolin, who was serving a 23-year sentence for attempted murder, near an elementary school in the southern Japanese city on Friday.

The government’s top spokesman apologised for the escape and vowed tougher measures to keep inmates secure. Li, leader of a gang of burglars, was convicted in 2005 for shooting at a policeman and stealing a squad car.