In one unexpected result of the Wuhan coronavirus, an escaped prisoner has turned himself in after being unable to cope with the increased security that the virus outbreak has brought about.
The 46-year-old man, surnamed Zhang, was sentenced to nine years in prison back in 1995 in Guizhou province for robbing people by use of gunpowder and other explosives.
In 2000, he managed to escape while on work duty outside of the prison.
Since then, Zhang has hiding out in different parts of the country, working odd jobs to make money.
However, the coronavirus outbreak ended up cramping Zhang’s lifestyle with authorities in the city of Xiamen conducting checks on places where migrants are known to gather, such as factories and guesthouses.
Without an ID or a place to live, Zhang was forced to live out in the park, eating his meals under a bridge and sleeping in a ditch.
After a few weeks of this, Zhang got fed up and turned himself in at a local police station on Saturday, putting an anti-climatic end to 20 years on the lam.
