Fugitive caught 3 days after escape from hospital

A prison fugitive, who had been on the run for three days after escaping during outside hospital treatment, was caught Monday on the northern outskirts of Seoul, police said.

Police officers captured Kim Gil-soo at a public phone booth in Uijeongbu, just north of Seoul, at 9:24 p.m. He was calling his girlfriend, according to police.

The manhunt began last Saturday when the 36-year-old fugitive, who was detained at the Seoul Detention Center, south of Seoul, on charges of special robbery, ran away while receiving treatment for abdominal pain at a hospital in Anyang, 18 kilometers south of the capital.

Kim, who was arrested as a robbery suspect last Monday and sent to the prison last Thursday, reportedly swallowed part of a plastic spoon before being transferred to Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital. Kim fled the hospital by taxi at 6:20 a.m. Saturday after asking prison officials to uncuff him for a bathroom visit.

Police have mobilized all available manpower and resources to track down the fugitive, adding he has a criminal history due to being convicted of a sexual offense in 2011. They offered a reward of 5 million won ($3,820) for information leading to his arrest.

Kim, who stands 175 centimeters tall and weighs 83 kilograms, had been seen wearing beige-colored sportswear as of Saturday, police said, noting his appearance may have changed later as he is believed to have stopped by a hair salon while on the run. (Yonhap)