Fears Australian Man Drowned in Shawshank-Style Bali Prison Escape

Indonesian police are investigating whether Perth man Shaun Davidson has drowned after escaping a Bali prison, along with three other inmates. On Monday, Davidson and his crew used a bucket and fork to dig their way to a waste tunnel and out under the walls of the notorious Kerobokan prison. Their absence wasn't noticed by guards until the next morning.

A diver was sent into the tunnel Tuesday, but discovered the escape route was flooded—raising fears the group has drowned during their escape. Police are currently working to drain the tunnel, and continue to search the island for the foursome.

"The tunnel is quite long, it's very possible that they got stuck with that small diameter of just 40 centimetres," Badung District police chief Yudith Satriya Hananta told reporters. "Let's drain [the tunnel] first and we'll see… We need to make sure."

However, Indonesian airports are on alert for the foursome—which also includes Bulgarian Dimitar Nikolov, Indian Sayed Mohammed Said, and Malaysian Tee Koko King bin Tee Kim Sai—to ensure they cannot flee the country if they made it out alive.

Davidson was serving a year in prison for immigration violations, after he used a fake passport to pass through Indonesian border controls. He apparently spent a year "partying and boxing" in Bali before being arrested. Immigration officials were apparently not convinced there was a resemblance between him and the overweight man on the passport he presented, despite Davidson's protests the photo was taken back when he was "chubby."

The 33-year-old only had three months left on his sentence; however, Fairfax is reporting he attempted to escape to avoid extradition to Australia. "Davidson had made no secret of his intention to avoid being sent back to Australia," a source said. "He actually likes prison. I can well imagine he escaped with the aim of being caught and extending his sentence in Kerobokan, which is far more comfortable and drugs more easily available than in an Aussie prison."

Davidson faced an outstanding warrant in Perth, over charges including the possession of methamphetamine and cannabis with the intent to sell. He fled to Bali in January 2015, after failing to appear before the Magistrates Court.

More as this story develops.