Court bailiffs suspended after suspect escapes

A court in Nantong, in East China’s Jiangsu province, has suspended bailiffs for failing to guard a handcuffed drug trafficking suspect who escaped during a hearing.

The 33-year-old suspect, Ma Tingjiang, escaped the court building by jumping out of a second-floor window on June 26. The police have offered a 50,000 yuan ($7,550) reward for information leading to his capture.

The court, in the city’s economic and technological development district, said the bailiffs were suspended since Wednesday and are under investigation.

It also accepted blame for the suspect’s escape due to its lack of safety consciousness, improper police force arrangements, and violation of police escort regulations.

The man, classified as “extremely dangerous”, was jailed for 13 years for robbery in 2005 but released after serving nine years. He was rearrested by Nantong police in December for drug trafficking.

On the evening of June 27, an image of a man resembling the suspect was caught on a camera in a local restaurant. The photo shows the suspect in different clothes, with his handcuffs removed.