The Taipei Detention Center said Monday it will tighten identity checks and other security measures to prevent the recurrence of a recent case of 'mistaken identity, ' in which a suspected felon posed as another detainee to make bail. It marked the first time that a detained suspect has managed to escape justice by passing himself off as somebody else, judicial sources said. Lo Shih-hung, who was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of drug trafficking, was released on NT$30,000 bail by the Banciao District Court on March 12 when he posed as his roommate at a hearing in his roommate's trial on forgery charges, a relatively minor crime. It was not until that afternoon, when a senior detention center official went to present Lo with a court summons, that the center realized the switch had been made, said Chi Yen-lieh, deputy director of the Taipei Detention Center. 'After a thorough check and questioning of Lo's roommate, surname Lin, we found out that Lo had left the detention center posing as Lin,' Chi said. The detention center immediately informed the Banciao court in hopes of taking Lo back into custody, but much to its staff's disappointment, Lo had been set free at 10: 30 a.m. after one of his in-laws posted the NT$30,000 bail. The center has issued a wanted notice and asked city and county police offices around the country to assist in locating the 32-year-old Lo who is similar in age and build to Lin, Chi said. He explained that every detainee has his or her own name card on the door of the cell block that includes the inmate's serial number and mugshot, but the photo can become hazy or blurry after a period of time, making it hard to use to identify the detainee -- though Chi said that was not the case with Lo's card. Based on existing regulations, prison staff are required to screen the detainees' serial numbers and mugshots before sending them to court, and the detainees must also pass through a body search checkpoint. 'When anything suspicious is detected, we may download computerized mugshots for further checks, ' Chi said. Hard-pressed to explain how Lo got away despite these safeguards, Chi said the Taipei Detention Center now has 3,100 detainees, making it difficult to memorize their faces, and up to 200 of them have to attend court hearings each day. In the future, Chi said, the center will review its operational procedures to plug any loopholes in sending detainees to court sessions. 'We will add two double-check procedures and introduce a computer monitoring mechanism to prevent a recurrence of the case, ' Chi added. The Banciao Prosecutors Office said it will investigate how Lo and Lin colluded to confuse prison authorities and whether any of the detention center's staff were negligent or deliberately let the suspect go. Prosecutors said Lo will be charged with forgery and escaping from justice when he is located. According to media reports, Lo offer attractive rewards in exchange for Lin's consent to attending the March 12 court session in his place. 