556 Prisoners, Escape from Soochow Gaol Hundreds of dangerous criminals serving long imprisonment terms at Tsaohoching and Soochow are now free. according to information from reliable sources, Whether prisoners kept at Nanking have. also geined freedom could not be ascertained here on Dec. 22, but it was believed that they are not in their cell Conviets at Tsaohoching village; which is on the western outskirt of Shanghai. were released by. the Chinese authorities after the hostilities broke out here. It was reported that many of them served in the Chinese Army and helped bulld defences, The Tsaohoching Prison known as the Second Kiangsu Gaol, Prisoners at Soochow escaped from their cells after a squadron Japanese aeroplanes had raided the city. The prison walls were reported fo. have been damaged and the inmates fled in all directions in the confusion, The number of convicts escaped from this prison was reported to be 556, The escape of the prisoners became known to the Settlement and French Concession authorities, when, several "convicts were re-arrested One of the Jatest arrests was made by "detectives of Chengl Road Station, "Acting on a secret infor-motion, the police party visited a tea-shop in Jessileld Road where one Nylon Zung-zee. an ex-chauffeur, was taken into custody.
According to the police, the man was sentenced to life imprisonment two years ago on a charge of murder. This the suspect did not deny, saying that he had been recently released by the Chinese authorities, Information from Chinese Cour officials received here recently was to the, effect that a total of 556 prisoners had escaped from Soochow. The suspect now detained by the police was believed to be one of ier.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.