6 Taiwanese inmates kill themselves after 14-hour standoff

Six inmates at a Taiwan prison took hostages and seized weapons on Wednesday. After a 14-hour standoff, the inmates have committed suicide, according to Taiwan's justice ministry. The hostages were unharmed.

The prisoners were convicted of murder, drug-related offenses, burglary, and other crimes. They had been protesting their sentences and "alleged mistreatment and unfair trials," according to BBC News.

The inmates apparently pretended they were sick so they could take two guards hostage. They then stole four rifles, six handguns, and 200 bullets from the prison's weapons cache. Police eventually surrounded the prison and exchanged the prison warden and head guard for the two guards being held hostage. After the inmates' failed attempt to leave the prison, they released the head guard and warden. Four of the prisoners then killed themselves, and the other two followed suit.

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"This situation shows that there are holes in the prison administration system," Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou said on the TV network TVBS. "I have asked the justice ministry to put various agencies on high alert, fully stabilize the situation, and do an in-depth review of the prison system."