An American man who escaped from Bali’s notorious Kerobokan Prison was arrested less than a week after being on the run.
Christian Beasley was recaptured on Lombok, the next Indonesian island east of Bali on Friday night.
“The perpetrator was arrested at 9:30pm. This is all thanks to the hard work of our officers,” Badung Police Chief Yudith Satriya Hananta said on Saturday.
Police say they tracked the 32-year-old down to the beach town of Senggigi and made the arrest in an alley.
Beasely had apparently tried to disguise himself by going bald, say police.
“Yes, correct, he was arrested on Friday night in Lombok. In fact, he had time to shave his hair off to try and fool our officers,” Badung Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit Chief Made Pramesteya said on Saturday.
The American had been renting a motorbike in Lombok and had obtained camping equipment so he didn’t have to check into a hotel, according to Pramesteya.
“He did not carry any identity documents. So basically he does not want to stay at any lodging. Then based on information from (the motorbike rental) we did a sweeping in the local area,” Pramesteya explained, as quoted by Tribun Bali.
Police allege that Beasley was hoping to escape to Thailand to meet his mother.
“But because he had difficulty, with no documents, he could not fly to his destination to escape from Indonesia.”
After making the arrest, Beasley was immediately moved back to Bali for further investigation.
Beasley, who was in Kerobokan after getting convicted on drug charges had escaped the overcrowded prison early on Dec. 11 by cutting through the roof with a hacksaw and climbing over a 20-foot-high wall.
Another American inmate, Paul Anthony Hoffman, 57, who had been in prison on a 20-month sentence for robbery, tried to escape with him, but was recaptured pretty much immediately.
Police are still investigating the escape and say they are exploring whether prison guards were involved.
Beasley had been arrested back in August at a post office in Kuta while allegedly trying to pick up a package with 5.7 grams of hashish inside. The American had already been convicted, but was due for sentencing on Dec. 12, the day after he fled the prison.
Beasley’s escape follows the brazen Kerobokan breakout in June 2017 of Australian Shaun Edward Davidson and Malaysian Tee Kok Kong, who remain at large. The two other prisoners they had busted out with were shortly recaptured.
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