Six inmates in Taiwan hostage standoff commit suicide

TAIPEI: Six prisoners at a southern Taiwan jail committed suicide on Thursday, ending a standoff after they took several staff hostage to complain about unfair trials and demand their freedom, officials said.

The prisoners shot themselves inside Kaohsiung city prison in the early morning, the justice ministry said, adding that the prison chief and another senior staffer who were being held after a hostage swap were unharmed.