Swedish Inmate Escaped Prison to Go to the Dentist

A Swedish inmate had such a bad toothache that he escaped prison two days before he was supposed to be released, went to the dentist, and then turned himself back in.

The 51-year-old inmate told a Swedish paper, Dagens Nyheter, that he had a toothache that caused his whole face to swell up. After the prison denied him medical care, he escaped from the low-security Östragård prison in southwest Sweden.

He then tracked down a dentist and had the tooth removed. Although he was wearing an electronic tag, the prison's staff was apparently unable to locate him.

After the dental work, he returned to the prison, where he was apparently given a warning, plus an additional 24 hours tacked on to his sentence, to make up for the time he spent on the outside — possibly because going to the dentist is punishment enough.

[image via Shutterstock]