A 29-year-old inmate of an island prison for drug addicts was captured last night three hours after he disappeared from a cleaning party. He had not got off the island.

The man, identified only as Tse, was found missing at the Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre at about 4.30pm. He was caught at 7.45pm after a search, the Correctional Services Department said, which said it would investigate the escape. Tse was sent to the minimum-security jail near Lantau in August last year for theft.

The centre can hold 784 and was designed for convicted male drug addicts to undergo an addiction treatment programme. The programme is based on discipline and outdoor activity, including work programmes and therapy, and is supported by comprehensive aftercare.