PHETCHABUN: Police yesterday recaptured a male inmate who walked out of the provincial prison unchallenged after donning a stolen warden's uniform and face mask.
Wutthichai Detchasithanawat, a 35-year-old inmate from Muang district, who was jailed on theft charges, escaped from the prison at 9.54am.
Security camera footage showed Wutthichai in a blue warden's uniform, face mask and cap emerging from the main building, holding documents.
In the video footage, he briefly heads off in the wrong direction before backtracking and casually strolling out through the open front gate before disappearing along a busy road outside.
No alarms were raised, and nobody stopped him.
According to local police, the escapee later went to his house near a shopping mall, in front of a military camp, and left the area on a motorcycle.
Pol Maj Gen Atthasit Sudsa-nguan, chief of Phetchabun police, took control of the investigation and launched a manhunt for the missing prisoner, who was recaptured yesterday afternoon jn a corn field in tambon Chonphai in Muang district.
Police said an investigation is underway to gain further insight into the prisoner's motives for escaping the prison and how he managed to do it so easily.