2 Chinese inmates get death for killing guard in jailbreak

BEIJING — Two Chinese prisoners were sentenced to death on Friday, and another to life in jail for killing a guard and then fleeing from a prison in police uniform last year, a court official said.

Gao Yulun, Wang Damin and Li Haiwei were convicted on charges of murder and breaking out of jail in Yanshou county in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, said Suo Hang, a press officer for the Intermediate Court in the provincial capital of Harbin.

Gao was already on death row when he fled the jail in September 2014, while Wang and Li were awaiting verdicts on assault charges.

Gao and Wang were sentenced to death for the murder and rare jailbreak, which made national headlines in China when police launched a massive manhunt for the trio.

Gao had been on the run for 10 days when police caught him at a relative’s home, where he sought food, according to media reports.