An arrested 17-year-old boy escaped from a police van while being taken to a detention facility Thursday night in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, police said. He was caught about an hour later.
The youth, who was held on suspicion of tresspassing and theft on July 22, was interrogated Thursday at the Chiba District Public Prosecutor's Office and was being moved to the Gyotoku Police Station, where he was detained.
According to the police, the youth, who was handcuffed, somehow slipped his hands through them, opened the window and escaped when the police van came to a stop at traffic signal.
Several alminum bars to prevent detainees from escaping through the van's windows were bent by force, the police said.
Along with the youth, other boys involved in the same case were in the van, so police believe they collaborated in helping each other escape, the police said.
The youth was the only one who managed to escape, but he was caught at the compound of a condominium 1 km from the site about an hour later, the police said.
Mitsuhiro Takahashi of the Chiba Prefectural Police said they will look into what happened and take steps not to repeat similar mistakes.