SHIZUOKA (TR) – A 54-year-old man in custody for theft fled from a hospital room in Izunokuni City early Friday. He was later detained in Mishima City, police said, reports TBS News (Dec. 6).
According to police, Kentaro Shimada, escaped from a hospital window on the seventh floor while still handcuffed between around 1:15 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.
Shimada is believed to have escaped by breaking the lock on a window in the private room. He left a note saying he was heading to the mountains or the sea. When he fled, a police officer was watching him on his bed through a curtain.
When police later detained Shimada in Mishima, the handcuffs that were supposed to be on one of his hands had been removed. Investigators say he was using a bicycle.
According to police, Shimada was arrested on September 3 on suspicion of robbery and assault after stealing food from a supermarket in Fujinomiya City. He also caused a security guard who stopped him to fall, resulting in injury.
On November 28, while in detention, he was hospitalized after stabbing himself in the stomach with chopsticks.
At the time, he had said he wanted to see his girlfriend, raising the possibility that he attempted to escape to meet her.
